


Make My Story

by MyHeroSite



Series: Phantom Thief Izuku Midoriya [1]
Category: Persona 5, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Gen, Heroes And Villans Have An Effect On P5 Society, Midoriya Hates Kamoshida With A Burning Passion, Midoriya Izuku Becomes A Hero But Not In The Way He Imagined, Midoriya Izuku Becomes A Phantom Thief Instead Of A Pro Hero, Midoriya Izuku Does Not Go to U.A. High School, Midoriya Izuku Does Not Have One For All, Midoriya Izuku Is The Transfer Student, Midoriya Recovers From Trauma And Becomes More Confident, Midoriya vs Injustice, Midoryia Izuku And All Might Never Meet, Quirks and Heroes Still Exist, Shujin Academy Is A Quirkless School, The Original P5 Protagonist Never Gets Probation So He Does Not Appear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-26
Packaged: 2021-03-27 01:40:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 28,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30115179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyHeroSite/pseuds/MyHeroSite
Summary: Izuku Midoriya always dreamed of becoming a hero, so when he sees a woman being harassed by a drunk man, he goes and saves her. However, the man sues him, and now he has a criminal record and will do his probation in Shibuya for a year. He almost gives up hope in becoming a hero, but he then gains the power of Persona, and finds that he can bring justice to the world in a way never seen before. He then becomes Joker, and forms the group known as the Phantom Thieves who steal the hearts of those with distorted desires to protect to save those that heroes cannot. Though he needs to be careful, or he will end up in prison or worse. But with his new friends by his side, what could possibly go wrong?-The Midoriya becomes the Persona 5 protagonist story we all needed
Relationships: Undecided
Series: Phantom Thief Izuku Midoriya [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2216088
Comments: 10
Kudos: 11





	1. The Price of Being A Hero

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to write this, because in an alternate reality, Midoriya could have easily been the one to save that woman. He now goes on a completely different path than canon, and becomes the leader of the Phantom Thieves instead of a pro hero like he always wanted. Both universes will be combined, and I might have BNHA characters show up at some point, but only Bakugou and Inko show up at the beginning because of the canon timeline. Midoriya will never get involved with the BNHA plot-line in this, but his origin remains the same. I made Shujin a quirkless school to keep things the same as the P5 universe, so hopefully that works out well. Most of the dialogue will be the same as the game, but some will be added and adjusted, and with cameos from BNHA characters that may happen latter, there will be some extra story arcs. 
> 
> This fic will be a long one since it will follow Royal and Scramble if I get that far, so if you like big fics with long chapters, this one will be for you. I will probably split this up into multiple, so if you see this one get completed, keep an eye out for that. I hope you like what I do with Midoriya's character, and how I combine both universes. If you have any ideas of how to do the cameos, let me know. The characters don't know each other in this version, so keep this in mind if you want to suggest any ideas. With that said, let the story begin!

“This is a work of fiction. All characters, ideologies, and phenomenons are doubtlessly unrelated to those in real life. Only those who agree with the statement above will be given the right to participate in the game.”

Yes

“The world these days is unable to maintain its ideal form anymore. It is full of distortions and will certainly collide. People who are eager to reform the world resist their fate are sometimes referred to as tricksters. You are the trickster. Now, it is time to step forward and face the abyss of the distortions.”  
...  
“Thank you for using this line today. You are now at Shibuya. This is the last stop. Please transfer at this station if you would like to use the subway lines.”  
The young boy with green locks and emerald eyes stared blankly ahead as he awaited the station.  
“Mom, All Might is so cool! I want to be a hero just like him someday!”  
She smiled, as his four year-old self went back to watching the video of the strongest hero ever rescue a hundred people single-handedly.  
Later that year, he was at the doctor’s visit that would forever change his life.  
“You see ma’am, your son, he’s quirkless.”  
His heart broke, and all he could do was stare into space as the cruel reality settled in. But, he didn’t want to believe it.  
He watched the video of All Might once more, but this time, he cried while doing so.  
“Hey mom, can I become a hero?” he asked, while pointing at the screen.  
Instead of getting the response he hoped for, she reached down and hugged him.  
“Izuku, I’m so sorry!”  
But, that didn’t stop him from trying. He wrote as many notes about heroes as possible, so he could use whatever knowledge he possibly could to help him succeed.  
“G-Give it back, Kacchan!” he stuttered, fearful of the explosive boy before him.  
“What, trying to become some hero? Your just a quirkless deku, and quirkless deku’s can’t become heroes!”  
Kacchan then tossed the notebook out the window where it landed somewhere down below.  
“Kacchan!” he looked out the window, then back at his ex-friend. “That’s mean!”  
“Whatever. It’s not like I care. Your just a loser, and you will never become a hero. Let’s get out of here already. I’m tired of this shitty school.”  
Kacchan’s group of friends laughed as they exited the building while he was left to go find his damaged hero notebook on his own.  
Things didn’t improve much after that. He applied to U.A with the hope of being able to get a chance at accomplishing his dream, but things did not go according to plan.  
“Please help me!” the woman cried, as the man got way to close to comfort.  
He reacted before he could think due to the adrenaline, then realized his big mistake.  
“You brat, I’ll sue!”  
That was the incident that changed his entire life.  
“Because of an incident that occurred yesterday, Izuku Midoriya is now on probation and he is officially expelled from this school. He will be transferring to a school Shibuya for the year, and will return if there are no further incidents, but will inevitably go to prison if he keeps this kind of behavior up. This will be his last day here, so if you have anything to say, go and do so.”  
“Hey nerd, weren’t you going to become a hero? You can’t become a hero with a criminal record,” Kacchan remarked, when they were on the way home from school.  
“Someone was in trouble. If I didn’t do anything, they would’ve-”  
“Some hero you turned out to be. Now, you’re the same criminal scum that it will be my job to hunt down. Better behave, deku, or I’ll be the one to haul your ass to prison. Ya got that!?”  
“I-I won’t let that happen. I-I’ll still become a hero!”  
“Don’t even bother, nerd. You had no chance to begin with, now your dream is gone because of your own shitty mistake. Take this time to realize that you are just a shitty deku and that trying to aim for an impossible goal will only make things worse for you. Hell, maybe even use your time at Shujin to find something you can actually do. Just, stay out of my way.”  
“Kacchan-”  
And, that was the last time he had ever seen Kacchan.  
He stared down at the floor the day his train to Shibuya would arrive while his mother Inko helped him pack.  
“And, I think that is everything! Izuku?”  
Tears began to flow out of his eyes, and he hugged his mother.  
“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean for any of this to happen! I-I wanted to be a hero, so I-”  
“Izuku, honey, I understand. That guy was a horrible man, and all you wanted to do was save someone. You did not deserve any of this. I hope that at the very least you will be able to make a few friends, so this entire experience isn’t terrible for you. The academy s a quirkless school, so maybe you will fit in there better. No, maybe if I sent you there sooner, none of this ever would have happened…”  
“Mom, this isn’t your fault. This is happening because of my own actions. I will go there until my probation is over, and this will all be in the past. I promise I won’t let you down.”  
“You never do. Good luck, Izuku.”  
And with that, he was on his way to Shibuya where he would hopefully have a decent school year and not make his situation even worse. He basically destroyed any chance at accomplishing his dream, so how could it?  
“Did they go insane or something?” a girl’s voice exclaimed, snapping him out of his thoughts.  
“It’s true!”  
“You mean someone went crazy all of a sudden? Your kidding, right?”  
The train pulled to a stop, and he was able to go into the station and to the town where he would be living for the first time. He saw a few people scattered around and some stores and houses, but had no clue where the residence he was meant to find was.  
“E-Excuse me, where is Sojiro Sakura’s residence?”  
“It’s down that way,” the officer said, pointing.  
“T-Thank you!”  
He was still nervous around law enforcement because of the incident, but at least that cop did not seem to bad.  
He eventually stumbled to the house, only for no one to answer when he rang the doorbell.  
“E-Excuse me sir, is no one home?” he asked, the delivery man.  
“Mr. Sakura is probably at his cafe, Leblanc. Look in the alleyway, and you will find it.”  
“T-Thank you!”  
He eventually discovered Leblanc in its hidden corner, and walked right in. The man he assumed was Sojiro Sakura stood behind the counter, while some customers enjoyed their meals. While standing at the entrance, he overheard the news talk about a recent incident.  
“A public transit bus was driven down an opposing lane with its customers still in it! The citizens can’t live in peace if this keeps up.”  
“How frightening,” the old man sitting at the table said.  
“What could be going on? Didn’t something similar happen just the other day?” the old woman asked.  
“Those heroes really are useless. Can’t even put a stop to something like this,” the man at the counter muttered. He then noticed Izuku’s presence. “Oh, that’s today.”  
“We’ll be going now. The payment’s on the table,” the old man said.  
“Thanks for coming.”  
“This place is an alley, so no chance of any car crashes here,” the old man commented.  
“A what now?”  
“There’s been a lot of those rampage accidents, you know. I just hope none happen here.”  
“It’s none of my concern,” the man wearing the apron responded.  
“See you next time.”  
The elderly couple made their way out of the building, and Izuku was now left alone with the man.  
“Four hours just for a single cup of joe,” the man muttered. “So, you’re Izuku Midoriya?”  
“Y-Yes. Thank you for having me!” he stuttered.  
“My name is Sojiro Sakura. You will be staying here for the next year. I was wondering what kind of unruly kid would show up, and you’re the one, huh? Have you been told? A customer of mine and your mother know each other and… well, not that it matters. Follow me.”  
They walked up the stairs, and entered a very dirty attic. Izuku did his best to prevent the dust from making him sneeze.  
“You look like you want to say something,” Sojiro acknowledged.  
“I-It’s, uh, cluttered,” Izuku mumbled, afraid of backlash for his criticism.  
“It’s on you to clean up the rest. I’ll be leaving after I lock up each day. You will be alone at night, but don’t do anything stupid. I’ll throw you out of you cause any trouble.”  
“Y-Yes sir.”  
“I’ve got the gist of your situation. You protected a woman from a man who forced himself on her, he got injured, then sued you, right? That’s what you get for acting like a hero. Now, you’ve got a criminal record, and were expelled from your old school. The courts ordered you to transfer, which your mother approved of. In other words, they got rid of you for being a pain in the ass.”  
Izuku stared at his feet. While it was harsh, it was all true. He stuck his head into other people’s business, and got punished for it. Maybe, Kacchan was right. Maybe, he can’t be a hero.  
“It’s best you not talk about anything unnecessary. I am in the restaurant business, you know. Behave yourself for the year. If you do, your probation will be lifted.”  
“Probation…” he mumbled, thinking about everything that got him in this situation.  
“It’s a word that applies to you now. Your sentence lasts until next spring, right? That’s why you’re going to be here for the year. Cause any problems, and you will be sent straight to juvie.”  
He knew that, but it still hurt. He wanted to be a hero, so how did he manage to become a criminal? All Might would be disappointed in him.  
“We are going to Shujin tomorrow.”  
“Shujin?” he asked, the name not ringing a bell.  
“Shujin Academy, the school you will be attending. It’s a school for quirkless kids, so as long as you don’t do anything dumb, you should fit right in. We will introduce ourselves to the staff tomorrow. There’s rarely a place that will accept someone like you, you know. What a waste of a Sunday…”  
Shujin Academy, a place where the quirkless were given a chance to prove their worth to society. Hopefully, he didn’t fail there like he did everywhere else.  
“Your luggage arrived a little while ago. I brought it up here for you.”  
He will start living here from now on. Maybe, he should check the place out a little.  
He examined the cardboard box on the floor. It was the box with his clothing and other necessities that his mom helped pack. He will open it up, and change into some comfortable clothes.  
It always felt weird when he was wearing something that wasn’t his school uniform, though now, it looked like he would never be wearing that thing again. He would have to make this and his new uniform the new normal.  
Next, he decided to observe a table with random magazines cluttered on top of it. It would need to be cleaned thoroughly if it were to ever be put to good use. He would have to prepare to sneeze a lot if he were to clean the dust off that thing.  
He made up his mind, and decided to do some basic cleaning to make the room livable at the bear minimum. He dusted the windows, mopped the floors, wiped down his bed, and pushed some things on the floor to the side so there was more space available to him.  
After he spent a few hours cleaning and sneezing, he observed the room, and had a brief moment of pride after seeing how much his effort improved its condition. Sure, it wasn’t much, but compared to before, it was a lot, and that is what mattered. He would finish the cleaning process another day. It was getting late, and he would need to go to bed soon, because he had a long day ahead of himself tomorrow.  
Unexpectedly, Sojiro Sakura came up the stairs, and into the room.  
“What the heck? I heard all the noise you were making up here, but I didn’t think you were cleaning.”  
Izuku stayed quiet. Hopefully, he did a decent job, and the man wasn’t mad at him.  
Sojiro looked around, taking in his surroundings.  
“Actually, the place doesn’t look too bad. Though, it’s only natural you would want to keep your room clean. Why don’t you go to bed for tonight? You don’t have anything better you need to be doing, right?”  
Bed sounded good. After all that cleaning and the emotional toll the move took on him, he was exhausted.  
“I’m going to close up shop, and get out of here myself. I won’t be the one looking after you if you get sick from staying up late, you got that?”  
Sojiro turned, and made his way downstairs.  
Now, Izuku was all alone without his mother to take care of him. No, he got this. He would take care of himself. She always tried so hard for him, so it would be good if she didn’t have to worry anymore. He already worried her enough as it is, anyway.  
He walked over to the bed, and stared down at it. It looked uncomfortable, but it was the best he had. From now on, this would be his room, so he would try to make the best out of it.  
Feeling the fatigue beginning to take a tool on his body, he undressed, and laid down in the bed, staring up at the ceiling awhile before going to sleep.  
Arrest, trial, criminal record… how am I ever going to become a hero like this?  
“Damn brat, I’ll sue!”  
The cops held him back, and all he could do was stare as the cruel reality shattered his hope for the future.  
But, he couldn’t sit back and do nothing. Then, he would’ve been too ashamed to ever call himself a hero even if he somehow managed to become one. Of course, the one time he ended up going home late was when it all happened…  
He started walking down the empty street when he heard an angry voice shout at someone.  
“Just get in the car!” the man demanded.  
“Stop it!” a woman shouted, with all her might.  
His ears perked up at this. Someone was in trouble! Where were the heroes? The police? Anyone?  
He turned down the street, and overheard a man and woman arguing somewhere nearby. If he hurried, he could get there in time!  
“How dare you cross me!”  
“Stop it! Let me go!”  
He started running, too afraid to stand back and do nothing. Then, he saw them. The man was trying to forcefully drag the woman in the care. There was no help in sight.  
“No!” the woman cried out.  
“Don’t give me that shit!”  
The drunk man was forcing himself on that woman.  
“P-Please, stop!”  
She was in danger, and there was no hero there to save her. No one except for him. He had to be the one to save her!  
With his mind made up, he mustered all of his courage and approached the man.  
“What a waste of time,” the drunk man grumbled. “You think you’re worth causing me trouble, huh?”  
“I-I’ll call the police!” the woman threatened.  
“Call them if you want. The police are my bitches! They are not going to take you seriously.”  
“No, stop!” she cried out, with a hopeless tone in her voice.  
At that moment, a loud siren went off in the distance.  
“Someone called the cops, huh? Get in the car! Fools like you need to shut your mouths, and follow where I steer the country!”  
Anger filled his heart. how come someone this cruel could get away with such horrible things while he did nothing wrong and was still treated like garbage just because he was born without a quirk!?  
“What are you looking at? Get out of my way!” the man slurred, in his direction.  
He stayed put, legs no longer capable of moving in the opposite direction. He wanted to fight back. He wanted to be a hero!  
“This ain’t a show, kid. Get lost!”  
He looked at the moment, disappointment gleaming in his eyes.  
“See? This is all because you are so damn slow! Get in the car!”  
He grimaced, and did his best to shove the horrible memory to the back of his mind. If only he stayed right there, maybe the cops would have arrived in time, and he never would have ended up here to begin with. But, none of that mattered now. He did the right thing, and paid the price for it. Men were not equal. He learned that at the age of four, and again on that night. If only there was something he could do to chance that…  
At that moment, his phone buzzed, and he picked it up. He saw a glowing crimson app glistening on the screen.  
It was the weird app that ended up on his phone prior to his arrival. He specifically remembered deleting it, but it was somehow back. Weird. He deleted it, and put his phone away. His eyelids were getting heavy. This time, he would really go to sleep.  
...  
He drifted off into the depths of his consciousness, and awoke in a dream-like state, only it felt much more real than a dream. Chains rattled, and water dripped. His back pressed against a hard slab of wood, and he felt something heavy weighing down on his wrists. Then, he sat upright, and noticed the chains.  
What was going on? Why was he dressed up like a prisoner? Wasn’t he dreaming?  
A strange laughter interrupted his thoughts. Two twin girls dressed up like wardens stood in front of his cell. He tried to step forward, but the chain on his leg prevented him from doing so. He used more strength, and somehow got right up to the bars, so he could get a closer look. The girls moved away from each other, revealing a strange man with a long nose sitting in a chair behind a desk in the background.  
“Trickster, welcome to my Velvet Room,” the man said, in his unsettling deep voice that made his skin crawl.  
He fought with the bars, trying to find a way out of the cell.  
“So you have come to, inmate!” one of the girls exclaimed.  
“The you in reality is currently fast asleep. You are only experiencing this as a dream,” the second girl explained.  
“You are in the presence of our master. Stand up straight!”  
He looked ahead, refocusing on the man once more.  
“Welcome. I am delighted to make your acquaintance. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those who are bound by a contract may enter. I am Igor, the master of this place. Remember it well.”  
Between dream and reality? The Velvet Room? Igor? He had so many questions, but he had a feeling he would not get all of the answers.  
“I summoned you to speak of important matters. It involves your life as well.”  
Well, if he wanted to speak, fine, but he hated being kept in a cage. It reminded him of how he was trapped in this cruel fate.  
“Let me out!” he shouted, pulling on the bars.  
“Know your place, inmate! Who do you think you are talking to!?” Caroline spat, whacking the bars with something that shocked him with electricity.  
He cried out in pain, then stayed away from the bars.  
“Still, this is a surprise. The state of this room reflects the state of your own heart. To think a prison would appear as such.”  
He observed the murky purple color. Was his heart really in such a dire state? It would make sense, since he lost all hope in achieving his dream, and even his own home.  
“You truly are a prisoner of fate. In the near future, there is no mistake that ruin awaits you.”  
“Ruin?”  
After everything bad that happened, that was the last thing he needed to worry about. And besides, how was he supposed to stop ruin? He was just a quirkless kid who made things worse even when he tried to do what was right.  
“Worry not. There is a mean to oppose such fate. You must be rehabilitated. Rehabilitated towards freedom. That is your only means to avoid ruin. Do you have the resolve to challenge the distortion of the world?”  
“I would rather avoid ruin,” he responded.  
“Allow me to observe the path of your rehabilitation.”  
The girls stepped before him once more.  
“Ah, pardon me for not introducing the others. To your right is Caroline, and to your left is Justine. They serve as wardens here.”  
“Try to struggle as much as you like,” Caroline said.  
“The duty of wardens is to protect inmates. We are also your collaborators,” Justine explained. “That is, if you remain obedient.”  
“I shall explain the rolls of these two at another occasion.”  
The girls turned around, facing Igor.  
“Now then, it seems the night is waning. Take your time to slowly understand this place. We will surely meet again, soon.”  
A loud ringing sound went off, startling him.  
“Time’s up,” Caroline stated. “Now, hurry up and get back to sleep.”  
The Velvet Room then faded from view, and everything went black.


	2. School or Castle?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Midoriya somehow ends up going to a castle instead of Shujin Academy. Not the best way to start his first day of school

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about making the text close together in chapter one. There was an issue publishing it, and that was the only I could get it to work. Anyway, on with the story!

He sat on his bed, still adjusting to the lighting. While sitting there, he thought about that dream he had. His dreams where usually about All Might or him being a great hero, but this one was about a man with a pointy nose telling him to fight against ruin, and some girl wardens being mean to him. Maybe this is all doing something to his head.

“Looks like you are up,” Sojiro said. “Let’s go introduce ourselves to the staff. The school you are attending is in the Aoyama District. It’ll take awhile to get there by train. The transfers are a real hassle, too. I’ll drive you there, but only for today. Let’s go.”

That’s right, he would have to take the train to school from now on. Hopefully, it wasn’t too bad. It would suck if he was always late because of the subway system.

“Sheesh, men usually aren’t allowed in my passenger seat,” Sojiro grumbled, as he walked down the stairs.

They were in the car for awhile, and eventually arrived at Shujin Academy. It was much bigger than his old school. Hopefully, it wouldn’t take him too long to adjust.

“Do me a favor, and behave yourself, alright? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t care what happens to you. Just, don’t get me into any trouble.”

In the past, he at least had his mother there to care for him. Now, he had no one. This was going to be tough, but after everything he had to deal with at his old school, he could probably manage. At least the other students here were quirkless so they understood him.

They entered the school, and eventually found the office where the principle and his teacher were waiting.

“Just so we are clear, you will be immediately expelled if you cause any problems. In my opinion, you are nothing but a liability, but we had our circumstances to consider. Whatever you may have gotten away with in your hometown, those days are over. If you are thrown out from our school, there will be no place left for you to go. Keep that in mind.”

It was hard not to keep that in mind. He would just keep his head low, and survive the school year. Then, things would go back to normal, and he would be with his mother again. He was a quirkless nobody like everyone else at the school, so hopefully it wouldn’t be too hard to fit in.

“This is the teacher in charge of your class.”

He glanced over the woman in the yellow blouse. Hopefully, she would be better than his old teacher. His old teacher always made him feel bad for being quirkless, but she was quirkless like him, so maybe things would be different this time.

“I’m Sadayo Kawakami. Here’s your student ID.”

He glanced down at the ID. At least his picture seemed alright.

“Be sure to read the school rules. Any violations will send you straight to the guidance office. And, if by chance you cause any problems, I won’t be able to protect you at all. That is your promise, right, Principle Kobayakawa?” she advised.

“That is right. He is responsible for his own actions.”

“But, why me? There should’ve been better candidates.” 

She didn’t hate him for being quirkless, but for having a criminal record. Hopefully, he could prove to her that he was a good person, so she could at least stand being in the same room as him.

“It was a sudden transfer, and your class was the only one that had an opening.”

“If you are done explaining things, mind if we get going? I got a store to get back to,” Sojiro said.

“Mr. Sakura, please keep a close eye on him. Don’t let him cause any trouble.”

“I’ll be sure to have a serious conversation with him about the situation he’s in.”

“Come to the faculty office when you arrive at school tomorrow. I’ll show you to the classroom,” she told him.

“Y-Yes ma’am.”

With that, him and Sojiro started walking out of the building. It was empty, so at least he didn’t have to worry about any other students seeing him. That was the last thing he needed right now.

“Everyone’s giving you the cold shoulder. That’s what having a criminal record does to you. Turns out, your past follows you wherever you go.”

That was the truth, alright. It was the one thing he kept being reminded of every second of the day.

“By the way, if you get expelled now, I won’t hesitate to kick you out. Got it?”

“I-I’ll do my best.”

Not like he had any choice. His entire future would be destroyed if he didn’t.

“Good.”

Sojiro looked around the hallway, and sighed.

“School never changes, huh? Come on, we’re going home.”

With that, they finally left, and he braced himself for what would come tomorrow.  
…

Meanwhile, another teacher walked up to Mrs. Kawakami.

“What a troublesome situation,” the teacher grumbled.

“I can’t believe they pushed someone with a record on me. A male teacher would be much better suited for this.”

“Why in the world was someone like that admitted here? We already have a bad enough reputation because of our “no people with quirks allowed” rule. I can’t believe he would accept someone with a criminal record.”

“Who knows? It was the principal’s decision. I was told it was for the school’s reputation,” she responded.

“I would have thought that my volleyball team contributed enough to that.”

“That’s certainly true.”

“Be careful, okay? Then again, if anything were to happen, I’d kick a student like that out right away,” he said, flexing his arms.

“I keep wishing that he wouldn’t come to school, though, that isn’t something I should be saying as a teacher.”

“Well, I should be returning to practice.”

“Oh, right. The tournament’s coming up, isn’t it?” she remarked.

“Having such high expectations placed on you by others is quite a problem in itself. We’ll have to work hard to make up for the track team, too.”

“Yes, that’s true…”

He walked away, leaving Kawakami to herself.

“Why did it have to be my class?”  
…

Izuku and Sojiro sat together in the car while there was a major backup outside.

“Ugh, traffic’s not moving at all. You are taking the train starting tomorrow.”

He already saw that coming. Hopefully, the train is better than this. Though, he heard how crowded they get, so he shouldn’t get his hopes up too high.

“So, how was it? The school, I mean. You think you can manage?”

At least Sojiro seemed to care somewhat about his well-being, even if he said otherwise.

“I-It seems better than my old one,” he replied, having bad memories of the bullying come back to him.

“Do you even understand your situation?” Sojiro said, with a loud sigh. “Still, you were expelled once already. To think you would enroll in a different one. It’s not like anyone will be sympathetic with you. If that’s what it was like at the school, people might start saying stuff about me, too. What a troublesome kid I’ve taken.”

He has been wondering this for awhile now, so he had to ask, while he thought there was a chance Sojiro would answer him.

“W-Why did you take me in?” he asked.

“I was asked to do it, and I just happened to agree to it. I’ve already been paid for it to, after all.”

Sojiro acted mean, but it seemed like he was a kind man, after all. He took him in despite his situation, after all. Maybe, things wouldn’t be so bad.

The radio started making noise, turning their attention to it.

“Now, back to today’s top stories. A subway train has derailed, severely affecting the timetable across all of…”

“Another accident?” Sojiro groaned.

It made him glad that they decided not to take the train today. He hopes his mother hasn’t heard. She would be worried sick!

“So, that’s why it’s so crowded. There’s been a lot of those lately. In fact, there was a real sad one just last month. It happened before you came here. If I remember right, the girl that passed away was only fifteen. Her parents have got to be just…”

If he died, his mother would be devastated. He had to be really careful to make sure nothing else bad happened.

“All traffic around Shibuya Station is being redirected due to the accident, so drivers should expect jam-packed streets,” the announcer on the radio said.

“Oh, come on!” Sojiro complained.  
…

“Please wait behind the yellow line.”

The people did as instructed, but the train flew by at unnatural speeds, making some of the nearby people cry out.

The passengers inside the train held on for their lives while some hammered on the door to try and get the driver’s attention.

Unbeknownst to them, the person was completely out of it, and they pushed the train forward as their eyes blazed an unnatural white.

The train fell of the tracks, making everyone inside scream.

“We are experiencing some technical difficulties in the lower lines.”

The train smashed into a wall, and made the people at the next stop fall back as the train cars landed on their sides.

Meanwhile, an old man and a woman watched the footage as it played on the news.

“It’s less of an operating accident, and more of a crime of the company and the government,” the old man grumbled. “Inspectors apparently reported all of this six months ago. The deterioration of the tracks, and the ATC. Seems the railway company and the Ministry of Transport both turned a blind eye to the truth. There’s no way they can hide. This will go all the way to the top.”

“Now, we will go onto our main story,” the news woman said. As well as other incidents of unknown motive, the concern is spreading among the general public. Just what could be causing such a drastic change so suddenly in these people?”

“Everything’s linked. That’s what you’re thinking, correct?”

She didn’t respond, and the old man smirked.

“Are you free? You and I haven’t gone for a drink in awhile.”

“Thank you, sir. But, I have another meeting to attend. I must be going.”

She bowed, then slowly made her way out of the office.

The old man sighed, as she made her way down the stairs. A younger man with brown hair awaited her at the bottom of the staircase.

“Did you ask for me? Is it a case?” he asked.

“Not quite. I want your opinion on something.”

“Sure, though your judgement is quite often correct, though. Can we discuss this over sushi, perhaps? You are making a student work late, after all.”

“Conveyerbelt only.”

“Aw…”  
…

Meanwhile, Izuku and Sojiro finally made it to Leblanc.

“Damn, to think there would be that much traffic. What a waste of time. I wasn’t able to open the cafe today…”

Still, Sojiro helped him out. He would do his best to make sure it wasn’t for nothing. That was the least he could do since the man was willing to take him in.

“Just head upstairs. There’s something I need to give you.”

They made their way up to his room, while Sojiro looked at the news on his phone.

“Talk about an accident. There were eighty people involved. I hope the heroes and the police put a stop to this soon.”

He put his phone away, and took something out of his other pocket.

“Here’s a diary. Make sure you keep it up to date. You may be under probation, but there’s no special limitations to what you do in particular besides following the law, that is.”

That’s right, he wasn’t locked up in a cell. He could still and go do things. He was in the big city. Maybe, he would go explore after school sometime.

“However, I am obligated to report on you, which is why I am having you record your daily activities.”

Sojiro’s phone rang, and he answered it shortly after.

“Hey, what’s up? I’m about to leave right now. Don’t worry, I’ll be there in no time. I’ll see you soon.”

He put his phone away.

“Well, I’m off. I’ll lock the place up, so do whatever you want for the rest of the night. Oh, but don’t mess up my store. If something goes missing, I’ll hand you right over to the cops.”

So, don’t take anything that isn’t already in his room. Got it. He didn’t want to risk anything right now.

“You got school tomorrow. You better go straight to bed, all right?”

Then, he was alone. It was weird no longer having his mother there to tell him “goodnight.”

He walked over to the diary sitting on the table, and decided to make his first entry. He briefly described his feelings about everything that transpired his first day. Maybe, he would show it to his mother later on, so she could get the full story, in-case he forgot anything. He hoped he would have some good things to tell her.

With that, he put the diary away, and got ready for bed like Sojiro instructed.

Suddenly, the phone from downstairs started ringing. No one was there to answer it except for him, so he headed down to pick it up.

“W-Who is this?” he asked, through the phone.

“Have you forgotten my voice already? It’s me. I closed up shop, but forgot to flip the sign when I left. It’s too much trouble for me to go back just for that. Think you can handle that for me?” Sojiro requested.

“Got it,” he responded.

“Then I will leave the shop sign to you. I will go now. Don’t cause any trouble.”

Sojiro hung up, and Izuku put the phone down. He went outside and flipped the sign, then headed back up to his room. Then, he lays in his bed while thinking about the next day. Tomorrow, he needed to take the train to school.

He took out his phone, and looked at a map to figure out his route. Yongen-Jaya, Aoyama-Itchome Transfer… seemed simple enough. Hopefully, there weren’t any accidents when he went to the subway station tomorrow.

Suddenly, a familiar red glow flashed and caught his attention. The mysterious red eyeball app was back on his phone, as creepy as ever.

“That’s so weird. I thought I deleted it. Guess I have to erase it again.”

He did just that, and put his phone away. Then his eyes got heavy once more, so he let himself drift off for the night.

The next day, he got up early, so he would have plenty of time to get to school. He got into his uniform, grabbed his bag, and headed downstairs.

He approached the bar counter where a plate full of food awaited him. He just realized that he hasn’t eaten in a day, and his stomach growled. It wasn’t Katsudon, but he would take just about anything right now.

“So, you’re actually going to school, huh? Here, I’ll feed you. Just make sure you finish it before the customers arrive.”

“Curry?”

Last he checked, curry wasn’t breakfast food. Then again, he wasn’t in the position to be picky. Hopefully, it wasn’t too spicy for him to eat.

“Don’t complain. Just eat.”

Surprisingly, the curry was pretty good. Though, that could also be because he was starving. He honestly wouldn’t mind having it again sometime. Maybe, today wouldn’t be so bad, after all.

“Thanks for the food,” he told Sojiro, after finishing the entire dish.

“Turns out you have manners after all,” Sojiro said, with a smile. “Now, go to school. You will be late if you get lost on the way.”

He turned, and started heading towards the door.

“Oh, and flip the sign to open for me.”

“Will do.”

“Now, you better hurry up. You are going to be late if you get lost.”

He made his way to the train station as quickly as possible, somehow not getting lost on the way there. He walked onto the correct train, quickly realizing how packed it was. How did people not suffocate in there? He missed his mom driving him to school in the morning already.

He eventually arrived at the stop, and got off the train, feeling lighter the moment the swarm of people dissipated.

While walking through the station, he overheard a conversation between a black haired woman and a man.

“Repeated psychotic episodes terrorize the city! What are your thoughts on this, sir? Some people are saying it’s the result of an oppressive work environment. Do you have any comments on that?”

“I-I’m terribly sorry, I don’t know anything about this! I-I’ll make an official statement at a later time.”

He made his way past them, and continued towards his destination. The accidents seemed to be worrying people quite a lot. Hopefully, the heroes stepped in and stopped the villain who was behind this.

He made his way to the Ginza Line, and exited the station to the outside where he overheard some reporters talking.

“We are coming to you live from Shibuya Station. The case of yesterday’s subway derailment has effected all transportation lines. The string of accidents has put commuters on high alert.”

He was really lucky on his way to school. He could have easily been a victim if things went south.

Eventually, he arrived at the train, and fought his way inside. The doors closed, and he was officially on his way to Shujin Academy.  
…

“Oh man, did it say it was going to rain outside today?” the man sitting at the counter in Leblanc asked.

“It’s raining outside?”

“It just started all of a sudden. This is why I hate the early spring.”

“Did he take an umbrella?” Sojiro asked, under his breath.

“Who are you talking about?”

“Don’t mind me. So, what will it be?”

“One house blend, please.”

Meanwhile, the news spokesman talked in the background.

“The effects of yesterday’s subway accident continue on today as various lines suffer delays, and-”

“There’s been a lot of nasty accidents lately. My coworker got caught up in the subway accident, and is in the hospital. That aside, it’s kind of weird. The people that caused these accidents went crazy all of a sudden. I heard that some of them suffered from nervous breakdowns during interrogation. I wonder if some bizarre quirk caused all of this…”

“Huh.”

Hopefully, someone put a stop to it all soon.  
…

Izuku arrived at his final stop. Now, all he had to do was get to Shujin and survive his first day. Shouldn’t be too hard, not after everything else he has gone through.

While he was walking down the street, the rain picked up. At that moment, he wished he asked Sojiro for an umbrella. He would stay put for a minute to stay dry, but he would have to leave soon or he would be late.

He glanced down at his phone, and the creepy eyeball app expanded until it took over most of the screen. He looked at it, but was distracted when someone joined him under the overhead. She removed her dark hood, revealing her blond hair. He didn’t know whether he should say something or not, so he just ended up staring like a weirdo. She eventually looked in his direction, and instead of glaring disgustedly like expected, she smiled and turned away.

They stood there in silence. He has never really talked to a girl who wasn’t his mother, so he had no idea what to do in this situation. She didn’t really seem to want to talk though, so he decided that sitting in silence would do for now. He didn't need to embarrass himself on the first day of school.

A few moments later, a white car pulled up on the side of the road. The window went down, revealing a middle-aged man.

“Good morning. You want me to give you a ride to school? You’re gonna be late,” he asked the girl.

“Um, sure. Thank you.”

She approached the vehicle, but he couldn’t help but notice that she seemed slightly uncomfortable.

“Do you need a lift, to?” the man asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“N-No sir, I’m good. T-Thanks for the offer, though.”

The girl got in the car, and closed the door. The window started closing, and he couldn’t help but noticed a sad look in her eye that reminded him of how he was when he was first put on probation. The car then drove away, leaving him alone in the rain once more.

At that moment, a boy with spiky blond hair ran through puddles, chasing after the car to no avail.

“Dammit! Screw that pervy teacher!”

“Pervy teacher?” he asked.

His phone beeped, and he noticed the app had taken over the entire screen. The blond boy turned around, acknowledging his presence.

“What do you want? You planning on ratting me out to Kamoshida?” the boy asked, in a threatening voice.

“N-No! I-I don’t even know who that is!”

The boy’s tone of voice and blond hair reminded him of Kacchan. Hopefully, he would realize that this was just a misunderstanding and not beat him up.

“Huh? In that car just now. That was Kamoshida. He does whatever the hell he wants. Who does he think he is; the king of a castle? Don’t you agree?”

“K-King of a castle?” he questioned, completely unsure of everything that just transpired.

“No, I mean…”

The boy looked at him, confused.

“Wait, you don’t know about Kamoshida? Are you for real? You’re from Shujin, right?”

“Y-Yes, I think so...”

He was panicking so much that his mind was starting to get jumbled. At least the boy didn’t seem like he wanted to attack him.

“You messing with me? Your wearing a Shujin uniform. A second-year huh… we’re in the same grade then. Never seen you before though.”

The same year, huh? It looked like they would see each other more in the future. Maybe they could become friends. His first friend! Well, besides Kacchan, though that’s complicated.

“Oh, you’re a transfer student? Then no wonder you don’t know him.”

The boy finally backed off. At least he seemed like an understanding kind of guy. Maybe he was just raising his voice because he was angry at Kamoshida. He seemed like a good guy, so perhaps they would get along, after all.

“The rain isn’t too bad. We better head out, or we’ll be late.”

At that moment, Izuku got a headache. He stayed put, trying to make sure he wouldn’t get too dizzy and collapse.

“My head hurts. Dammit, I wanna go home.” the boy groaned.  
…

Months in the future, Izuku sat in a chair across from a prosecutor named Sae Nijima in a dark room.

“There was a terrible subway accident that day. You remember it, don’t you? I assume you know of the uproar that the public calls the psychotic breakdown incidents.”

“Never heard of them,” he lied.

“That can’t possibly be true. It was all over the news, and one of the victims included a teacher at your high school. I have no doubt you’ve heard about it. On that day… were you still an ordinary student?”

He stayed silent. He was always ordinary, and was treated like garbage for it. He soon learned that being ordinary was overrated, and that he could accomplish more if he became something the world has never seen before. Yet here he was, being interrogated by a prosecutor. Why was he always punished for being a hero? That’s all he ever wanted to be, and yet…

“Let me change the question. You transferred to Shujin Academy, correct? A quirkless prep school meant for people just like you. That’s what it should’ve been. What happened around that time? Tell me everything, truthfully.”  
…

He walked down the street with the boy beside him, and without his knowledge, the app began activating on its own. He followed the boy into an alleyway, and the water turned red after his foot turned it up while he wasn’t looking. He heard the sound and turned around, only to see an ordinary alleyway.

The app blazed crimson, and he walked ahead, seeing that the boy came to a complete stop. Before them was a castle not a school.

“We didn’t come the wrong way though. What happened? It should be right there. What is going on here?” the boy questioned.

They decided that they had to look for answers, so they headed straight up into the castle. Hopefully, this was some sort of elaborate set up the drama department did, and the school would be the same as it always was. Though, Izuku couldn’t help but worry.

The two of them walked into the entrance, and stood on a red carpet. A chandelier hung above them, there were various marble pillars, and a couple staircases.

“That’s weird. Where’s the school?” the boy asked.

“Isn’t this our school?” Izuku inquired.

“It should be. It said “Shujin” on the gate. What’s going on here?”

The boy pulled out his phone, only to be met with disappointment.

“Out of service? Where did we end up? The sign was for the school, right?”

“I-I’m sure of it,” Izuku replied, getting more nervous as time went on.

Then, a guy wearing a suit of armor holding a sword and shield appeared before them.

“Geez, you freaked me out. Who are you? A student? Man, your costume is impressive. Is that armor real?”

He had a feeling that was not a student. The sword was beginning to make him nervous, so he stayed hidden in the background.

“Come on, don’t just stand there. Say something.”

Another guy in armor appeared, making the boy take a step back.

“H-Hey, what’s going on?”

“D-Do they work at the school?” Izuku stuttered, knowing full well that was a fleeting hope at best.

“Dude, I don’t know!”

The armored guys took a couple steps closer.

“C-Calm down! Time out, man! We gotta run!”

“G-Good idea.”

“L-Let’s go!”

They tried to retreat, only to be surrounded by the knights.

“What’s with these guys!?” the boy frantically asked.

The boy was bashed with a shield, and he collapsed. Izuku began to panic, knowing full well that he was next. Where were the heroes? How were they supposed to get out of this on their own!?

“Ow, you’re going to break my bones, dammit! The hell you think you’re-aagh!”

The knights surrounded them, and they were then carried off to what may be their doom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The real story has officially begun! Midoriya has entered the Metaverse for the first time and will have to unlock his Persona if he wants a chance at escaping and living another day. At least he is not alone


	3. New Power Is Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They get cornered by Kamoshida, and Midoriya unlocks his Persona. He and Ryuji eventually escape the castle with a strange creature named Morgana

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won't focus too much on the battles since they don't transfer well from the game into this fic, and I will only write about the battles that are important to the story not ever single fight. If you want to see the fights better, watch a play through of the actual game or play it yourself. This story is more focused on character and their interactions than the battles. I will only really focus on battles if they are ones I added to this story. With that said, enjoy!

Izuku and the boy were now together in a prison cell. Why was it always prison cells? He hated prison cells. It reminded him of the potential of him being locked up for life if the school year doesn’t go well, and so far, he hasn’t even made it to school. At least he wasn’t alone this time. Maybe, they could find a way out together.

“You all right?” the boy asked him.

“I’m okay. W-What about you?”

“Yeah, more or less. Looks like this isn’t a dream. What’s going on!?”

The boy walked up to the bars, and bashed on them.

“Hey, let us out of here! I know there’s someone out there!”

He walked back, in a fury.

“Dammit, where are we? Is this some kind of movie set!?”

Izuku was about to say something when he heard a loud scream. The two of them ran to the bars, and looked around to try and find what could’ve caused such a terrifying sound out of a human.

“W-What was that just now?”

There was another shout, and the boy next to him started freaking out like was, only he showed it more on the outside while Izuku did his best to keep it concealed so he could stay as level-headed as possible.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa… you’re shitting me, right?”

Izuku really wished he was, but they both knew that was not true, and that this was real. This was not a dream and no illusion quirk was causing this. How were they supposed to get out of here? The two of them were quirkless. They had no power to save themselves. If no heroes showed up, then what were they supposed to do?

“This is really bad. Isn’t there some way to get out of here!? Come on, we have got to do something!”

The boy was right. They had to act now, or the guards would come back and do who-knows-what with them.

He examined the cell as much as he could. There were only barrels, chains, and a block to sleep on. Nothing much to work with. They were trapped there.

“Huh? You here that?” the boy said.

Two guards approached as they both held onto the bars.

“Be glad that your punishment has been decided upon. Your charge is unlawful entry. Thus, you will be sentenced to death.”

“Say what!?”

“No one is allowed to do as they please in my castle.”

A man wearing a crown, an ugly red robe, and no pants or shoes approached them.

“Huh? Wait… is that you, Kamoshida?”

“T-That’s Kamoshida?” Izuku asked, staring at the strange man before them.

He saw the man earlier, and last he checked, he did not look like a discount king. Though after everything else that happened, nothing would surprise him anymore.

“I thought it was some petty thief, but to think it would be you, Sakamoto. Are you trying to disobey me again? It looks like you haven’t learned your lesson at all.”

So the boy’s name was Sakamoto, huh? At least he knew now, though he would’ve rather found out from the boy himself than Kamoshida. He already didn’t like the guy. He was the exact kind of guy that if a hero defeated, the people would be happy about. But right now, all he could do was be at the man’s mercy. He really was a quirkless deku huh? What would you do in this situation, Kacchan?

“And you brought a friend this time, because you can’t do anything for yourself.”

Sakamoto bashed the bars.

“This isn’t funny, you asshole!”

“Is that how you speak to a king!? Looks like you don’t understand your situation at all. Not only did you sneak into my castle, you committed the crime of insulting me, the king. The punishment for that is death. It’s time for an execution! Take him out!”

Execution? No, he couldn’t afford to die. Not after everything that happened. If he died, his entire future would be non-existent, and his mother would be sad! And, his friend is in danger of dying, too. The first real friend he has ever had. He can’t allow this too happen!

“S-stop it,” Sakamoto muttered, too helpless to even argue back properly.

The guards entered the cell, and they were backed up in a corner.

“Goddammit…”

Sakamoto rushed up, and slammed a guard so hard that it got knocked over.

“I’m not down for this shit! Come on, we’re out of here!”

Another guard approached him, and whacked him in the chest with the handle of the sword. Sakamoto cried out in pain, and collapsed onto the floor.

“Just go! Get out of here! These guys are serious!” Sakamoto pleaded, too hurt to move any longer.

“Running away, are we? What a heartless friend you are,” Kamoshida mocked, making Izuku clench his fist.

“He isn’t a friend. Come on, hurry up and go!”

“What’s the matter? Too scared to run away? Pathetic scum isn’t worth my time. I’ll focus on this ones execution.”

The guards hoisted Sakamoto up, not giving him any way to escape.

“Take this!”

Kamoshida punched him, making him cry out.

“And this!”

He punched him again, even harder.

“Lowly scum!”

And again.

“Useless pest!”

Another cry of pain, and Sakamoto was laying on the floor. Kamoshida spit on him while Sakamoto could barely keep it together.

“Where did all that energy from earlier go?”

A guard picked Sakamoto up, then tossed him back onto the hard floor.

“A peasant like you isn’t worth beating. I’ll have you killed right now.”

That’s it. If he doesn’t do something, Sakamoto will die! He can’t let that happen! He has to be a hero now, or they’ll both be killed!

“Stop it!” he shouted, with all his might.

“What? Don’t you dare tell me you don’t know who I am.”

Kamoshida knelled down, and stared into Izuku’s emerald eyes with his golden ones. Izuku stared him straight in the eyes, focusing on his anger and determination rather than his fear.

“That look in your eyes irritates me!”

He took a kick to the gut, and his back slammed into the wall.

“Hold him there. After the peasant, it’s his turn to die.”

“I won’t let you!”

Izuku stood up, but was forced back down by the guards who held him in place against the wall. Kamoshida took a step towards Sakamoto while all he could do was watch.

“No, I don’t want to die!” Sakamoto cried out, while Kamoshida laughed.

At that moment, a strange sensation overcame him.

“This is truly an unjust game. Your chances of winning are almost none.”

A silver butterfly that no one else appeared to notice fluttered before him.

“But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you.”

He began to panic, when he heard a voice speak out from the depths of his mind.

“What’s the matter? Are you simply going to watch? Are you forsaking him to save yourself? Death awaits if you do nothing. Was your previous decision a mistake then?”

That’s right. People kept telling him he was not cut out to be a hero, but a hero is supposed to be someone that helps people, not someone with the flashiest quirk in the world. He would be a hero right now, everyone else be damned!

“It wasn’t!”

The guard held Sakamoto up, and angled the sword so it pointed at his neck.

Izuku thrashed around as the guard pinned him to the wall.

“Very well. I have heeded your resolve.”

His head throbbed, and he cried out in pain. His face sweat, and it felt like his body was on fire.

“Vow to me. I am thou, thou art I… thou art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice! Call upon my name, and release thy rage!”

He cried out once more as a power began to course through is veins. It wasn’t a quirk. It was something greater. Something more than the world has ever seen!

“Show the strength of thy will to ascertain on thine own, though thou be chained to hell itself!”

He stared ahead, all the doubts and fears he had once gone, replaced by a burning fury.

“That’s enough!”

Kamoshida and the guard holding Sakamoto turned their heads. Sakamoto was released, gasping for breath.

“What was that? You desire to be killed that much? Fine.”

A guard bashed him aside the head with their shield, and he just barely managed to stay on his feet.

Kamoshida smiled As the guards crossed spears beneath his neck, and trapped him against the wall. Sakamoto tried to get up, only to fall back down. Kamoshida signaled the guards, and one raised their sword, preparing to deal the blow. Izuku’s emerald eyes shot open, and a shockwave covered the entire area. Things stilled after a brief moment, and Izuku took the moment to catch his breath. 

When he looked up, a mask resided over his eyes. It bothered him so he tried to take it off, only to find that it was practically glued on. He pulled with all his might, and the mask slowly peeled off, making him bleed all over. He cried out in agony, but after a moment, the pain faded and so did the wound. He smiled as blue fire surrounded him, and as power entered his body. An orange face that was not his own covered his features, making the guards take a step back. Chains appeared above him, and so did a crimson creature. He laughed gleefully, as the possibilities of what could be done with this power flowed through his mind.

The winged being behind him waited for his signal, so he spread out his arms, and fire knocked the guards back without any effort, and they slammed into the wall. All Sakamoto could do was stare as this all went down.

“W-What the!?”

“I am the pillager of twilight, Arsene!”

“What the…”

“I am the rebel’s soul that resides within you. If you so desire, I can give you the power to break through this crisis.”

For the first time in his existence, he would finally have power! He would finally be more than a quirkless deku!

“Give me your power, Arsene!”

“Very well.”

“Who the hell are you!? Guards! Start by killing that one!” Kamoshida exclaimed.

“This power of mine is now yours! Kill them however you want. Run wild to your heart’s content!”

He used Arsene’s power for the first time, and the cursed energy almost destroyed the Pyromaniac in one blow. He then used his dagger to finish it off, and repeated this pattern with the second one. Then, he returned to the cell to get Sakamoto out.

“What was that just now?” Sakamoto asked, still out of it.

Izuku looked down, and noticed that an unfamiliar outfit replaced his school uniform. It made him look like some vigilante.

“You little…” Kamoshida grumbled, approaching him.

Sakamoto rushed up, and managed to knock him over, clearing the way for their escape.

“You like that, you son of a bitch!?”

“Lock the cell!” Izuku shouted.

“Y-You mean this?” Sakamoto asked, referring to the key laying on the floor.

He picked it up and they ran out of the cell, locking it behind them.

“Okay, it’s locked!”

Kamoshida rolled over, startling both of them.

“Damn you!”

“Hey, what was that just now?” Sakamoto asked, ignoring Kamoshida. “And your clothes!”

The outfit faded away, leaving his normal school uniform.

“Whoa, it went back to normal!”

Kamoshida yanked on the bars, scaring Sakamoto.

“You bastards!”

“God, this is ‘effing nuts!”

The most agreeable thing Sakamoto has said so far. He wasn’t so sure they would ever make it to school at this point.

“Anyways, let’s scram! You lead the way!”

Sakamoto tossed the key somewhere on their way out, leaving Kamoshida to rot in his cell.

“After them! Don’t let them escape!”

They were now aways away from the cell, but they could still hear Kamoshida fuming.

“You think you can get away with doing this to me!?”

“I don’t give a shit! I’m not down for any of this! Come on, let’s get out of here!”

Izuku nodded, and let him to a place where they could jump across the water to the other side. They ran a little ways, and found a spot where crates rested across the stream.

“Can we really get across this? There’s no where else we can try. Let’s get to it.”

Izuku was able to cross with ease. He was used to playing by a stream throughout his childhood, so he was more accumulated to wet terrain. Sakamoto got across eventually, but he took a little longer.

The two of them ran to an open cell, and crawled through the busted part in the wall to another area.

“Crap, my bag’s stuck!” Sakamoto said, in the background.

Izuku would have chuckled if they were not in a life threatening situation.

They arrived in another cell which led them to a different area.

“Look there’s some guys in armor over there! They’ll probably call for backup if we try and take them on. We should go some other way!”

They crossed a bridge, and eventually found a better looking exit.

“Hey, we gotta hide!”

They hid behind some boxes while guards ran by across the water.

“Over there. They’re looking for us, aren’t they? I’m not playing this game anymore! We gotta find a way out of this goddamn place!”

Izuku ran on ahead, and found a long spiral staircase heading upwards. They approached a large wooden door at the top of the stairs.

“Is this the exit? Let’s get the hell out of here!”

They ran through the door, and saw the stream flowing towards them.

“This isn’t the exit? What the hell is this place!?”

Next, they took a left, and saw what appeared to be cells with people in them hanging above the water.

“H-Hey, look! We really did hear people screaming. So we aren’t the only people who got captured! Is he okay?”

Izuku wanted to save them, but they had no way to get them out of the cells, so all they could do was move on and focus on saving themselves.

They ran ahead, only to find a dead end.

“Another dead end? How the hell are we supposed to get out of here!?”

“Hey, you there. Blondie! Frizzy hair! Look over here!” an unfamiliar voice said.

They looked down, and saw what appeared to be a cat locked up in the cell.

“What is that thing?” Sakamoto asked.

“You’re not soldiers of this castle, right? Get me out of here! Look, the key’s right there!”

“We’re trying to get the hell out of here! You obviously look like an enemy too!”

He understood Sakamoto’s caution, but the creature was locked up, so he highly doubted that was the case. If anything, he was in trouble just like they were.

“I’m locked up here, so how could I possibly be your enemy!? Help me out!”

He stared at the creature, and finally said what had been on his mind since he first saw it.

“A cat?”

“I am not a cat! Say that again and I’ll make you regret it!”

They heard footsteps from the guards off in the distance.

“They’re catching up to us!” Sakamoto acknowledged, growing more nervous each passing second.

He glanced down at his phone, only to be met with disappointment.

“Shit, there’s still no service. Isn’t there a way to contact someone outside!? How the hell do we get out of here!?”

“Hey, you two! You want to know where the exit is? Let me out and I’ll take you there. You don’t want to get caught and executed, right?” the creature suggested.

Izuku decided to give the creature the benefit of the doubt. It’s not like they had any other options.

“Can you really help us?”

“Of course I can! Now, let me out of here!”

“This thing sounds like it’s all talk,” Sakamoto remarked.

“If you guys think you can get out on your own, then be my guest!”

“What do we do?”

The sound of footsteps increased, making it clear they had to make a decision.

“Are you seriously not messing with us?” Sakamoto asked, the creature.

“If you don’t hurry, they’ll catch you.”

“Fine.”

Izuku was glad they were making this choice. The creature didn’t seem to be lying, so hopefully they could finally get out of there.

They released the creature, and it seemed really happy once freed from its cell.

“Ah, freedom tastes so good.”

“Now, where’s the exit you monster cat?” Sakamoto inquired.

“Don’t call me a cat! My name is Morgana!”

“Shut up and hurry it up! You wanna be locked up again?”

“A-All right, sheesh. Follow me, and stay quiet.”

They ran after Morgana, feeling a sense of hope in their hearts.  
…

Kawakami sat at her desk. She glanced up at the clock and sighed.

“It’s fourth period already. Mr. Sakura said that Midoriya left the house this morning. Should I contact the police? No, that’ll just be more of a hassle. What did I do to deserve this?”  
…

“Guess we just got to follow it,” Sakamoto decided.

Morgana moved down the corridor, and they stayed close behind. They stumbled upon a bridge, and a statue. The bridge was up, so it was useless unless they did something to bring it down.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I am doing? I’m lowering the bridge.”

Morgana turned, and looked at him.

“You, frizzy hair. It seems like you pick up on things faster than blondie over here. Try checking around the mouth of this statue, okay?”

“Okay.”

He examined it up close and personal, and saw what appeared to be some kind of handle. He pulled it down, and the bridge folded out.

“How were we supposed to know how to do that!?” Sakamoto exclaimed.

“Amateur. Come on, let’s keep going!”

They ran, but stumbled into a guard.

“Oh shit, it’s them!”

“You amateur! Stay still. Hey you, you can fight, right? Let’s go!”

Morgana stepped before them, oozing with confidence.

“Come, Zorro!”

Another summon appeared, and it looked much different than Izuku’s own.

“Y-You got one of those things too!?”

“Hmph, we will promptly shut them up!”

They entered a battle with a Pyromaniac like before, and a demon-like enemy that he has never seen before.

“Damn shadows, they have taken up intercept positions! Looks like it’s not about capturing us anymore. They’re out for blood! I’ll back you up, so fight like your life depends on it! Let’s go!”

He started off by halfway draining the health of the demon by using curse damage.

“You amateur. This is how you fight!”

He damaged the Pyromaniac so much that it was almost taken out in one hit.

“Strike at an enemy’s weakness to knock them down! Use that as an opening to strike again! That’s the most basic of basics. Remember it well!”

Morgana attacked it once more, finishing it off. Izuku then used his dagger on the demon, and Morgana did the final blow, and with that, they were victorious.

“Not bad. Your Persona’s pretty powerful.”

He was able to hold his own. Who knows what else he could do with this power? Maybe, he could finally become a hero.

“Persona?” Sakamoto asked.

“You mean that thing that comes out all dramatic-like?”

“Yes. You saw how frizzy hair ripped off his mask when he summoned it, right? Well, everybody wears a mask deep within their heart. By removing that…”

Izuku’s vigilante-style outfit disappeared, revealing his school uniform.

“He turned back to normal,” Sakamoto remarked.

“The transformation usually shouldn’t dissolve like that. After all-”

“That’s enough! This crap doesn’t make any sense!”

“Can’t you sit still and listen enough, blondie?”

“Don’t call me blondie! My name’s Ryuji!”

So, that was his name. He would make sure to call him that, assuming the boy didn’t care about first same usage.

“Actually, there’s no time for me to lecture you! You wanna escape this place in one piece, right? Let’s go! Oh, but before that, take these. Use them carefully, okay?”

He received what appeared to be medicine from Morgana. That could come in handy. They might need it if they encounter any more enemies on the way out.

“Just make sure you aren’t too hurt, okay? There’s still a chance we’ll have to fight again.”

They went a little further, but stopped when they saw a person in one of the cells.

“Hold on a sec! I feel like I’ve seen what this guy’s wearing before. Dammit, I’m too flustered! I can’t remember anything right now!” Ryuji said.

“Come on, let’s go!”

“Hold on, dammit!”

“What is it? We need to go now!” Morgana reprimanded.

“But, who are these guys?”

“Do you really think you have time to worry about other people right now? Besides, they’re-”

“There!” a guard shouted.

The bridge lowered, and a guard stood across from them.

“You should’ve listened to me!”

“We have to fight it!” Izuku said, bracing himself for the upcoming battle.

“I’m glad you stick to your guns.”

Two pixies appeared before them. Izuku used a curse attack on one, and Morgana used wind on the other. They repeated this process, and both were destroyed.

“Let’s get away before more show up!” Morgana exclaimed.

“Hold on, we can’t just leave these guys here!”

“You really don’t get it, do you? Ugh, there’s no time to explain! Look, I’m going. If you don’t want to follow, be my guest!”

Morgana was right. They could’t stay there. He would haul Ryuji out himself if he had to.

“Fine, I’m coming!” Ryuji huffed, chasing after Morgana.

They returned to the main entrance where freedom was finally in sight, and took a turn down another hallway instead.

“We’re here!”

“Finally, we’re saved.”

Ryuji tried to open the door, but it was sealed shut.

“It’s not opening! Did you trick us, you jerk!?”

“Don’t jump to conclusions. Over here!” Morgana replied.

“Hey, wait up!”

Morgana opened another door, and they ran after him.

“Where are we supposed to get out from there? There aren’t even any windows!”

“Ugh, amateur. This is the most basic of basics.”

He had flashbacks to one of the many comics he has read over the years, and found the solution.

“A ventilation shaft?” Izuku responded.

“That’s right! I knew you had it in you! Yes, the ventilation shaft. You guys should be able to squeeze through it one at a time. It will get you out of here.”

“Then we just got to get that metallic mesh off!” Ryuji said.

He climbed up, and yanked it off. Their escape route was now set. They were finally free!

“Whoa!”

Ryuji landed on the ground beside him.

“Ow… crap, the enemy didn’t hear us did they? Seriously, we’re finally getting out of here!”

“You should wait on celebrating until you actually make it out. Now, get going!”

“But, what about you?”

“There’s something I still have to do. We’re going our separate ways.”

“Thank you for all the help, Morgana,” Izuku said.

“Your welcome. Bye.”

They made their way out, but Morgana stayed behind for a bit.

“Those two seem useful. Especially the frizzy-haired one if my judgment's right…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Midoriya has awakened his Persona, and he and Ryuji managed to escape the castle. Now, they have Kamoshida to worry about. Whatever will they do?


	4. First Day of School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku and Ryuji finally escape the castle and make it to school. Things are looking at their worst when the entire school hates him for his criminal record, but he makes a friend out of Ryuji, so things finally start looking up. Now, if only there was something he could do about Kamoshida...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is when the story finally starts moving. He and Ryuji officially become friends, making him the first real friend he has had, since things with Kacchan did not end well. The rumors at Shujin hit Midoriya especially hard since people call him a villain which is the exact opposite of what he wants to be, and he gets really mad at Kamoshida because he is clearly a bad guy, yet so many people like him and he has a lot of influence over the school. Midoriya will really start to hate Kamoshida with a passion and have doubts in the heroes for ignoring such obvious evil like him. He will try to avoid getting involved with the castle, but we all know that Midoriya can't stop himself from being a hero, and will eventually go there again anyways.
> 
> I probably won't have any BNHA cameos until after the Kamoshida arc because I want the Phantom Thieves to be established first, but expect to at least hear whispers of things going on at UA soon. Inko will make occasional phone calls because we all know she wouldn't abandon Izuku like the P5 protagonists parents did. Also, I am basing the timeline of events and dialogue off Johneawesome's walkthrough on Youtube, so check that out if you haven't already. With that, onto the story!

Izuku and Ryuji stood on the sidewalk, catching their breath.

“Did we make it?” Ryuji asked.

He picked up his phone, and it answered the question for them.

“You have returned to the real world. Welcome back,” the electronic voice stated.

“Does that mean we got away?”

“I think so.”

Everything looked normal, at least. And, everyone around them seemed to be oblivious to what transpired since they seemed to not be concerned about anything.

“What was all that, anyway? The castle, Kamoshida, and that weird cat? The hell’s going on!?”

Before he could respond, a police officer made their way over to them. Izuku immediately began to freak-out because of his criminal record. He tried to go to school, but couldn’t! Though, how would anything he say make sense to the officer, even with the existence of quirks?

“What’s with the yelling? Are you students of Shujin?” the officer inquired.

“Cutting classes, are we?” the second one added.

“No! We were trying to get to school, but we ended up in this weird castle instead!” Ryuji retorted.

“Hand over your bag. You better not be doing any drugs.”

“Why would you think that!?”

Why wouldn’t they? It was the only logical explanation. There’s no way a quirk is what caused that castle to appear. Not even pro heroes would take them seriously.

“Are you his friend?” the officer asked, snapping Izuku out of his thoughts.

He honestly did not know how to reply to that. They just met and seemed to get along okay, but they were still strangers to each other. He hoped they could become friends, though.

“N-Not exactly. W-We just go to the same school together,” Izuku replied.

“Oh, you seem quite friendly with him though. Anyway, you should go to school.”

“Like I said, I don’t know what’s going on here either!”

“We passed by Shujin on our way here, and there was nothing out of the ordinary there. If you say any more nonsense, I will call your school. Is that what you want?” the officer threatened.

“Come on, say something!” Ryuji pleaded, looking at him for help.

“L-Let’s go!”

They walked away from the cops, and made their way to what they hoped would actually end up being their school.  
…

“A Minister of Transport announcing his resignation. Things are going as planned,” the old man in his office muttered. “Sae Nijima, that reminds me… better leave it be for now.”  
…

Izuku and Ryuji returned to where Shujin Academy would be, and they both stared. How was this possible? They were here earlier, yet there was a castle, not a school!

“Is this for real? I’m sure we came the same way. What’s going on here?”

“That’s exactly what I wanted to ask you. We received a call from the police,” a staff member of the school said.

“That damn cop snitched on us after all!” Ryuji grumbled.

“It’s rare not to see you alone. Where were you all this time?”

“Uh… a castle?”

Izuku wanted to face-palm, but was too exhausted to do so. He just wanted to get this day over with so he could get the year over with, and pretend that the castle was just some fever-dream he had from anxiety or something, though deep down, he already knew that it was real and that he was just in denial about the whole situation. All he wanted was to become a hero. Why did any of this happen?

“So, you have no intention of telling me the truth?”

“What’s this about a castle?” a familiar voice asked.

“Kamoshida!?” Ryuji exclaimed.

“Eh!?” Izuku said, caught off-guard.

Kamoshida stepped towards them, making Izuku take a step. Then he looked closer, and realized that this one looked completely different than the one from earlier. This one was normal.

“You seem so carefree, Sakamoto. Quite a difference from when you did practice for the track team,” Kamoshida smugly said, making the anger from when he saw the guy earlier return.

“It’s your fault that-”

“How there you speak that way to Mr. Kamoshida! There’s not much leeway left for you, you know?”

“He’s the one that provoked me!” Ryuji spat, while Izuku was unsure whether he should try and calm him down or remain silent.

“Do you want to be expelled? Anyway, you still have to explain yourself. Follow me.”

“This is bullshit!”

“I should have been more considerate, too. Let’s say that we were both to blame.”

That sounded so fake, that Izuku wanted to punch the shine right off Kamoshida’s teeth. He was not usually the type to get angry, but this man just rubbed him in all the wrong ways. He reminded him of the villains that showed up in the comic books he used to read after school. Where were the heroes now? Would they really just sit back and let this man get away with hurting people?

“Well, if you say so. Still, you are coming with me. It’s undeniable that you’re extremely late.”

“Fine,” Ryuji muttered, finally giving in to the inevitable outcome.

“By the way, your that new transfer student, Izuku Midoriya, correct?”

“Y-Yes…”

He really did not want to talk to, Kamoshida. The man made him feel uncomfortable, and he brought out all the bad emotions in him. He just wanted this day to end already.

Ryuji glared at Kamoshida, and then walked into the building. Now, he was alone with Kamoshida, which was the last thing he wanted to be.

“Have we met somewhere?” Kamoshida asked, seemingly out of the blue.

“W-We saw each other this morning.”

“Oh, that’s right, at the station. Well, I’ll overlook this just for today. I’m sure you heard from the principle, but cause any trouble and you’ll be expelled. Understand?”

“Y-Yes, sir.”

He hated having to comply, but it was either that or risk being expelled, which was something he could not afford to risk. He just had to put up with him for a bit, then the year would end and he would go back home to his mother. It was just that simple. He just had to endure like he always had.

“Hurry up and go to the faculty office. I’m sure Mrs. Kawakami is tired of waiting.”

That’s right, an innocent bystander was involved in all of this. He would be the best student he could from now on to make up for this.

“Good luck trying to enjoy your new school life.”

Kamoshida then walked away, leaving him alone at the school entrance.  
…

“The school turned into an old castle? A talking cat? Are you hallucinating from an overdose? I won’t put up with you if you are joking around,” Sae said.

He stayed silent, not wanting to make things any worse than they already were.

“I’m going to have you continue your story. The one who received a calling card from the Phantom Thieves was an olympic mentalist, an alumnus from Shujin Academy, The PE teacher Suguru Kamoshida,” she explained, revealing a photo of him, bringing back the memories of his early days at Shujin.

“It all came out in his confession that he was guilty of everything. The abuse, the… violations. But, there should have been no connection between the two of you since you had just transferred. Why did you target him?”

“I’ll explain later,” he quietly responded.

She slammed on the table, but he was too out of it to flinch.

“That’s unacceptable! Try and recall it once again!”  
…

He walked down the hallway, and encountered who appeared to be one of the teachers at Shujin Academy.

“So, you’re the problem transfer student. Late on the first day, too. You like causing problems for the school?”

“N-No! I-I didn’t mean to-”

“Excuses are useless. Do you even want to be reformed? I bet this is a sign of what you will be like here.”

The teacher backed off, leaving Izuku to bow his head down in shame, as he continued his search for the faculty office. It was the first day, and everyone already had a bad impression of him because of his criminal record. How was he supposed to turn all this down, so he could have something good to tell his mother?

He did his best to ignore the whispers about him from the other students in the background, but it weighed down on him heavily. He picked up the pace, and made his way up to the second floor where the faculty office should be.

“I can’t recommend you that college anymore. We suddenly decided on a different student,” a teacher told the student.

“What!? But you promised!”

“I’m sorry, but you’ll have to accept that this was decided by the school. They want to prioritize students on our highly acclaimed volleyball team.”

All men were not created equal. This proved his point yet again. That boy was so close to achieving his dream, yet someone else stole it from him, just like how that drunk man stole Izuku’s dream of becoming a hero from him. The world was cruel, which was something he was forced to learn time and time again.

He continued moving and overheard some more school gossip, only this time, it was about him.

“They really allow criminals into this school? I don’t want to go to school with someone like that!”

“Is he still a criminal if he’s underage? I guess all that matters is that he is dangerous.”

Dangerous, him? He would never hurt a fly! He wanted to be a hero, not a criminal! But, he knew that speaking out would make things even worse, so he forced himself into silence.

“He got convicted of assault, right? A guy like that must look just like a villain!”

“The school should kick him out already. He sounds like a time-bomb just waiting to go off.”

He couldn’t take it anymore, so he distanced himself from them. Being a called a villain was too much for his heart. What would All Might say if he saw him like this? He would be ashamed.

Izuku finally arrived at the faculty office, and he braced himself for whatever reaction Mrs. Kawakami had, and prepared many apologizes in his head. He would go in, and out. He could to this. It couldn’t possibly be worse than that castle, right?

He entered the room, and saw Mrs. Kawakami sitting at her desk while grading some papers. She gave him a disappointing look and sighed, which made him feel super guilty.

“Unbelievable. You managed to be over half a day late on your first day? Can you explain yourself?”

“I-I’m so sorry! I got lost, there was this castle, and-”

“Will you pull yourself together? You were given a warning yesterday. More importantly, I heard that you were with Mr. Sakamoto.”

More important than him being late on his first day? What did Ryuji do to make the teachers hate him so much? He didn’t seem like that bad of a guy. Much better than Kamoshida ever will be.

“T-That Sakamoto?” he asked, unsure if it was okay to pry.

“Don’t get involved with him, okay? He’s nothing but trouble. He wasn’t like that when he was devoting his time to the track team, though…”

Something clearly happened with the track team. Didn’t Kamoshida mention it earlier? Ryuji seemed to hate the guy. Something clearly happened, and he had a feeling that only Ryuji himself would tell him the truth. He would try to find out later.

“Anyway, break is almost over. Classes will end after fifth period today because of the subway accident. I’ll have you introduce yourself when class resumes. Follow me.”

At least the school day would be shorter today so he wouldn’t have to embarrass himself any longer. He just had to get himself through the period, then he could go back to his room at Leblanc. Hopefully, Sojiro wouldn’t be too mad at him.

The two of them walked down the hallway together, then Mrs. Kawakami suddenly stopped.

“By the way, when you introduce yourself, be serious about it even if you’re lying to the class, okay? Do not say anything unnecessary.”

“Y-Yes ma’am.”

They made their way to the classroom, when he briefly overheard a couple girls talking about him, but not in a way that he could be happy about.

“Do you think that’s him?”

“The one in the rumors?”

In the classroom, he got a good look at everyone’s faces, and heard more people talking about him which made him wish he could go in his room, and hide under a blanket of shame.

“Being late on his first day? He really is insane.”

“He doesn’t look like a villain, though.”

“Be careful, he might slug us if we look him in the eye.”

“Settle down,” Mrs. Kawakami said, silencing the class. “I would like to introduce you a transfer student: Izuku Midoriya. Today, we… had him attend from the afternoon on since he wasn’t feeling well. All right, please say something to the class.”

“M-My name is Izuku Midoriya! N-Nice to meet you!”

He opened the eyes he didn’t even realize he closed, and saw everyone blankly staring at him. At least they didn’t seem to hate him any more than they already did.

“He seems quiet, but I bet when he loses it-”

“I mean, he was arrested for assault, right?”

Their opinion was still bad, though. This was going to be a long school year.

“Uh, so, your seat will be… over there. The one that’s open. Sorry, but the people nearby share your textbooks with him for today?”

“This sucks.”

Another boy nearby groaned, looking about as done with this day as he was.

He hurried over to his seat, doing his best to avoid eye-contact with the other students.

“Lies.”

He turned his head, and blinked. It was pretty girl from this morning!

“H-Huh?”

She stayed silent after that, leaving him to go sit down in his seat, and stare out the window to try and distract himself from reality even if only for a little while.

“Do those two know each other?”

“Ew… does that mean he hit on her?”

“That means she’s cheating on him with Mr. Kamoshida! Then again, this is Takamiki we are talking about…”

“That side of the room is awful.”

If anything, the other side of the room was way worse. They didn’t even know him, and they were saying mean things about him. And, that girl didn’t seem like a bad person, but was she really dating Kamoshida? If so, she had terrible taste, and he hoped she would break-up with him for her own sake.

“Oh, right! The volleyball rally is in two days. Everyone’s just changed classes, so use that time to try and get to know each other.”

A volleyball rally? That was the last thing he needed right now. He didn’t need any more crazy things to happen. Was a normal school year too much to ask for?

“All right, let’s get class started. Who’s on duty today?” Mrs. Kawakami asked.

“Everyone, please rise…” the gloomy boy from before mumbled, signaling the class to stand.  
…

The class finally ended, and he was able to escape the cramped room. Then, his head hurt, and he saw a corridor that resembled the ones in the castle, before it faded back into the school. Mrs. Kawakami walked out of the room, and stumbled upon him before he could get himself together fully.

“What’s wrong?”

“A-Are you certain that this is a school?” he asked.

He didn’t even know what reality was anymore. He really wished his mother were here. She would definitely be able to help him make sense of things. 

“Are you sure you are okay? Also, it seems like people are already talking about you, but I’m not the one who told them.”

So, some teacher leaked his criminal record to the entire school. Did they really want to get rid of him that badly? It was only his first day! At least give him a chance! At least Mrs. Kawakami wasn’t cruel to him, even though she didn’t like him.

“I can’t ever catch a break. What did I ever do to deserve this?”

He honestly felt sorry for her. She seemed like a good person, yet she was being forced to deal with someone like him. Hopefully, things would get better.

“You should go home without stopping anywhere. Mr. Sakura sounded pretty angry.”

And, there was the other thing he had to worry about. He was not looking forward to that at all. He hoped that Mr. Sakura wasn’t as scary as he was angry as Kacchan was. At least he was quirkless, so Izuku didn’t have to worry about being burnt.

“Oh, and about Sakamoto, don’t get involved-”

Ryuji appeared out of nowhere, and an awkward silence settled in.

“What do you want? I heard the police caught you cutting classes today.”

“It was nothing,” Ryuji said, seemingly tired of shouting for the day.

“And, you haven’t dyed your hair back to black either…”

“Sorry about that.”

Ryuji stepped towards him, and whispered something in his ear.

“I’ll be waiting on the rooftop.”

He left, leaving him with Mrs. Kawakami.

“See? That’s why I don’t want you getting involved. Understand?”

Mrs. Kawakami made her exit, leaving him to his own devices. But to her dismay, he had already made up his mind. He knew Ryuji wanted to talk about the castle, and Izuku also wanted answers, so he had no choice but to go to the rooftop. But before he could go, Kamoshida and Principle Kobayakawa appeared out of nowhere.

“Why did you allow someone like him to transfer here? He’s already associating with Sakamoto. A student with a criminal record, and the culprit of an assault case. At this rate, it’d be pointless how much I contribute to the school!”

Hearing Kamoshida speak made his blood boil, and charged his determination to speak with, Ryuji. The guy hated Kamoshida as much as he did, and was involved with the castle at well, so that seemed like the best option at this point. Who else could he turn to when there was a situation that even the heroes were seemingly helpless against?

“Now, don’t be like that. This school counts on you, Mr. Kamoshida. You are our star.”

The fact that the principle of the school supported such a guy was infuriating. Someone like that shouldn’t be in charge of anything, especially a place with children!

“Still, a steady buildup is necessary behind such brilliance as well.”

“Your troubles never seem to end do they, Principal Kobayakawa? All right, I understand. I’ll do my best to continue to answer to all your expectations of me.”

Izuku held himself back with all his might, and thankfully, the two left, and didn’t acknowledge his presence at all. Now, he would make his way up to the rooftop to talk to, Ryuji. Hopefully, the two of them could figure something out.

On his way to the staircase, he noticed the gloomy boy from his class.

“I-Is there something you want from me?”

“Where’s the rooftop?” Izuku asked.

“But, nobody’s allowed up there…”

Izuku knew that being a hero meant following the rules, but this was an urgent matter that heroes could not fix, so he had no choice but to break one. He hoped that All Might would understand.

“I-I mean, just follow the stairs up, and you’ll get there.”

He stumbled upon another person before heading up.

“Hm, what should I write for the next paper? I wish there was something good out there.”

This could be a good chance for him. Maybe, he could use her to get the truth out the school. Though, he shouldn’t get his hopes up. They would probably hate him anyway. But, it was worth a shot.

“H-How about the transfer student?” Izuku suggested.

“W-What? You’re talking about the one at the center of all the rumors? Alcohol, smoking, theft, violence… the teachers would never approve of such an article.”

It seemed like the rumors about him were so abstract now, that everyone thought he was a villain. It didn’t look like anyone would believe anything he had to say.

He made his way up the stairs, and entered the third floor. He overheard a couple girls talking by the corner.

“Hey, wasn’t that Sakamoto? I saw him walking up the stairs.”

“Maybe he called someone up there so he could punch them.”

From what he saw about Ryuji, he was nothing like Kacchan, and would only do something like that if a really bad person provoked him. He really hoped that wasn’t just his optimism speaking, and that his judgement was right on this one.

“Oh, you mean like what happened at track practice last year? I heard it was a big fight.”

Something definitely happened with the track team. What could’ve happened to make Ryuji snap like that?

“Stay away from him! We are only just starting high school. I’m too young to die!”

He walked away, not wanting to hear their chatter any longer. Compared to Ryuji, Kacchan was much scarier because of his personality and quirk. Those two didn’t know what they were talking about.

On his way, he overheard another conversation, and this time it was between a brown haired girl and a teacher.

“By the way, thank you for volunteering to take care of the planters,” the teacher said.

“Oh, it isn’t any trouble. I’m not sure if I’m up for the task though,” the student replied.

“Don’t worry, you’re a big help. Oh, and I’ll make sure the rooftop is unlocked for you. I imagine it’s going to be a lot of work, but I’m sure you can handle it.”

That girl was going up to the rooftop? He and Ryuji needed to keep their conversation quick then. She seemed like a nice person, and he didn’t want to cause her any trouble.

“Alright, I’ll do my best! I’ll go take a look at them later.”

He hurried past, and went up the stairs to where the entrance to the roof would await him. There was a bunch of junk on the floor, and a green door heading out to the rooftop. The door had an off-limits sign on it. He felt like a villain for doing this, but he had to since there were no heroes there to help.

Izuku braced himself, and made his way in. Ryuji was sitting at a chair with his feet on some random desks that were scattered around.

“There you are. Sorry for calling you up here like this. I bet that Kawakami already told you stuff like ‘don’t get involved with him’, huh?”

“M-Maybe a little.”

Ryuji already knew about it, so there was no point in hiding it. Besides, he hoped he could finally get the truth out of him.

“Figured as much. Then again, we’re in the same boat.”

He should’ve figured that was coming. Though, Ryuji surprisingly didn’t seem disgusted in him like everyone else in the school. Maybe, they could become friends, after all.

“I heard you got a criminal record. Everyone’s talking about it. No wonder you’re so gutsy.”

Ryuji just said it like a fact, and there was no bitterness, so he got a bit closer and leaned against the table. He knew that this was practically sulking, but after all that happened, he felt like he deserved the right to. And Ryuji was involved with this to, so might as well sulk together.

“What was all that? You know, how we almost got killed at a castle. It wasn’t a dream, right? You remember it too, yeah?”

“Y-Yeah…”

And, that was the problem. He almost wished he didn’t, but a part of him was curious about the castle, and wanted to go back. No, that was stupid. He could risk getting expelled if he kept this kind of behavior up. He had to go straight home, or Sojiro would finish him off before those guards in the castle could ever get to him!

“Well, just because we both remember it doesn’t mean much though.”

Not like they could do anything about it even if they wanted to. They were two quirkless kids, and besides, there wasn’t a way back there, right?

“I mean, even if it was a dream, you saved me from, Kamoshida. So yeah, thanks, Midoriya.”

That’s right. He did save Ryuji’s life. No wonder he didn’t hate him. Izuku saved someone. Did that make him a hero? 

He smiled brightly at the thought. He saved someone, and they thanked him! Maybe today wasn’t so bad, after all.

“Y-You’re welcome!”

He was brought back to reality when Ryuji continued on with the conversation.

“But man, that was Kamoshida we saw back there. You probably don’t know about it, but there are some rumors about him.”

So, there actually were rumors about him? That explained the bad feeling in his gut whenever they were close. Maybe he really was the kind of guy a hero should go after.

“Kamoshida…” Izuku mumbled, under his breath.

“No one says anything about him because he’s some medalist who took the volleyball team to nationals. The way Kamoshida was the king of that castle felt crazy real because of that.”

Ryuji stayed silent, thinking about everything that happened earlier.

“I wonder if we can get into that castle again.”

Izuku wondered that to, but he knew it was a bad idea. They almost got killed last time. They might actually if they go back. Then again, he didn’t have a Persona when they entered. If they could go back, maybe they could get something on Kamoshida that could have him exposed and arrested. No, Izuku, that’s a job for the pro heroes and the police. You are just a high schooler. Don’t get yourself involved with anything you will regret!

“Forget it. It must’ve all been a dream! It has to be!”

Ryuji stood up, and faced him.

“Sorry to drag you out here like this. That’s all I had to say. You know, we might be pretty similar. I feel like we’re going to get along just fine as troublemakers. I’m Ryuji Sakamoto. I’ll come talk if I see you around. Don’t ignore me, all right?”

“Yes!”

It was official. Him and Ryuji were friends! He never really had a friend before. Not since Kacchan, but Kacchan eventually became mean. He and Ryuji seem to get along well and are in similar situations, so hopefully their friendship would turn out well. He had something good to tell his mother! This makes up for everything bad that happened today. For the first time since he arrived at Shibuya, he looked forward to what the future would bring.

With that, he made his way home with a big smile on his face. That was all brought to a pause when he saw Sojiro in Leblanc. Maybe, he should’ve kept his positivity for later.

“I got a call from the school. I heard you ditched half of your first day.”

“I-I’m sorry! I won’t let it happen again!”

He really meant it. He would do his best to go to school from now on. He couldn’t afford to get expelled and besides, he wanted a chance to be able to talk to his new friend. This was the first time in his life he had ever looked forward to school. It was weird, but a kind of weird he could get used to. Things may finally be looking up.

“Yeah, yeah. That’s what everyone says when they are caught.”

Sojiro sighed, not wanting to put up with him anymore.

“Look, just behave yourself. One wrong step and your life is over. You do know what probation means, don’t you?”

“I do,” he muttered, staring down at the floor.

He has heard it more than enough times. It was practically drilled into his head at this point. He just wanted to go up to his room, and get this day over with. He was starting to look forward to the future, but right now, he was exhausted, and he had a headache.

“Good.”

Sojiro’s phone rang, saving him from any lectures.

“Hey, what’s up? Yeah, I just closed up shop. I’ll head over in half an hour as promised.”

Sojiro remembered he was there, and glared in his direction.

“What are you standing around for? Get upstairs and go to bed already.”

He started talking to the person on the other end of the phone once more.

“No, it’s just a guy. I hired a part-timer.”

He decided to leave, but Sojiro wasn’t done with him quite yet.

“Don’t forget to lock the door and turn off all the lights, okay?”

He held the phone up to his ear again.

“I’m leaving now. I told you, he’s a part-timer.”

Izuku finally escaped, and arrived back at his room. That was the longest day he had since the incident and when he found out he was quirkless. He was not in the mood to do anything else, and felt like he could collapse at any moment.

He plopped down onto the bed, and stared out into space. Today he found a weird castle and almost died, but he was able to be a hero, and made a new friend. It was quite the eventful day. He wished that tomorrow would at least make more sense.

Suddenly, his phone rang. He saw that it was his mother calling, and picked up.

“Izuku honey, I’m so sorry! I hope they weren’t too mean to you! I-”

“Mom, I’m okay!” he quickly responded, not expecting to hear such an outburst from her tonight.

Then again, his mom had the tendency to worry, so it was no surprise that she would call him eventually. She sounded like she was worried sick. Hopefully, he could calm her down a little.

“Y-You’re all right? Are you sure?” she asked, not believing her ears.

“Everyone at the school knows about my record so things were rough at first, but I managed to make a friend today and he’s a good guy, so everything will be okay, I promise.”

“Thank goodness! I was so worried!” she said, sounding like she was crying tears of joy on the other end. “Now, what is this friend like? Oh, and how is Shujin Academy and living with Sojiro?”

Looked like he wouldn’t be able to go to bed for awhile. Though, he was glad to hear her voice again. He would tell her as much as he could without terrifying her, which meant not including anything about almost being killed in a castle. He took a breath, then told her everything that happened the last couple days.

“I don’t like, Mr. Kamoshida. You stay away from him Izuku, you hear me?”

“Yes, Mom.”

“And make sure to keep Ryuji close. You need someone to rely on in case things get really tough.”

“I will.”

“It’s getting late, so you should go to bed. Oh and Izuku, I will make you all the katsudon you want when you come home, so do your best, okay?”

That put a smile on his face. Katsudon was his favorite food, and it was one of the many things coming to Shibuya made him miss. He would be so happy to have it again.

“Yes!”

The phone call ended, and he was left to his own devices. He got under the covers, smiling softly to himself as he let sleep take him.

But of course, he was not allowed to have a normal nights rest. His eyes opened once more, and he realized that he had returned to his cell in the Velvet Room.

“About time you’ve come to. On your feet, inmate!” Caroline said, friendly as ever.

“Our master wishes to speak with you. It’s for your own sake that you take his words to heart,” Justine advised.

“First off, let us celebrate our reunion. Oh? You’ve awakened to your powers, and special ones at that. Your rehabilitation can finally begin.”

There Igor went again, saying things that made no sense. He was quirkless which meant he had no power. Unless, Igor meant that thing from the castle, but no one else should know about that, right?

“My powers?”

“You will be training the power of Persona which you have awakened to. Personas are, in other words, a mask. An armor that covers the heart when confronting worldly matters. I have high expectations of you.”

So, Igor did know about his Persona. That changed things then. Perhaps, there was much more to this than he imagined.

“What do you mean?”

“There is no need to worry. You will learn when the time comes.”

Ever so cryptic. Why couldn’t Igor just explain it all now? He just wanted to understand.

“By the way, have you come to appreciate the Metaverse Navigator? Using it will allow you to come and go between reality and palaces.”

Metaverse Navigator? Palaces? Just when he thought things couldn’t get more confusing.

“Metaverse Navigator?”

“I bestowed it to you as a means to train you as a thief.”

“The Metaverse Navigator is a gift from our master! You better take good care of it, inmate!” Caroline advised.

“Devote yourself to your training so you may become a fine thief.”

What was all this about becoming a thief anyway? He was a hero not a thief. None of this made any sense!

“It must be disheartening to make use of the Metaverse Navigator alone. Should there be others who would prove beneficial to you, I will grant it to them as well. This is all for you to grow into a most excellent thief.”

The alarm sounded in the background, signaling that it was time for him to wake up soon.

“It’s time. Go and enjoy whatever rest you may have.”

Then, he faded back into the depths of unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While there are a lot of bad things going on, Midoriya was able to be a hero and make a friend, so it isn't all bad. But, Kamoshida just can't let him stay happy.


	5. The Metaverse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku and Ryuji discover the Metaverse Navigator, and return to Kamoshida's castle. They learn of his horrible misdeeds, and vow to bring him to justice in real life so he can never hurt anyone again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things will start picking up a bit from here onward, but we are still at the beginning. There is so much I am looking forward to doing with Izuku in this story, and I'm looking forward to showing you all.
> 
> That said, I saw a comment remarking on how Izuku shouldn't be a second year, so I will explain how that can be. This world is a mixture of two universes, so things are slightly different. In this world, people go to a normal high school for one year to prove that they can keep their grades up in a normal setting, then they apply at the end of the year to a hero or prep school and go for three years if they are accepted. That is how Midoriya is a second year in this story. He did his first year at a normal school, and was able to transfer to a prep school because of his really good grades. I hope this is an acceptable way to get around the problem.
> 
> Now then, on with the show!

Izuku’s eyes twitched from the light shining in from the windows, and decided that he could sleep no longer. He briefly remembered the dream he had about Igor and the twins.

What was with them, anyway? Why did they think he had the ability to stop whatever ruin awaited the world? He was just a quirkless kid who aspired to become a hero. Even with the ability of Persona, would it truly be enough?

He shrugged it off, and exited Leblanc. Today would be his first full day of school, assuming the Metaverse didn’t ruin his day again. He needed to make a better first impression this time. Maybe, he could end the year with more than one friend.

Izuku stood on the cramped train, wishing for even a brief moment where a person would move so he could stretch his arms.

“What was the conductor thinking controlling the train like that?” a person frantically asked.

“The guy lost it. It’s been happening a lot lately.”

“All these accidents are happening because someone suddenly lost their minds, right? Do you think it’s because of some quirk?”

“The conductor was the only one by the train’s control room, so unless someone hit him with one beforehand, it is unlikely. Maybe the war between heroes and villains, or society in general is finally getting to people. Something like this was bound to happen eventually given how the government ignored all these problems for so long,” a student said.

“I hope someone puts a stop to all this soon. Japan won’t last if this keeps up.”

Izuku hoped so too. This was becoming quite the problem. What were the heroes doing? They should have at least some idea of what was causing it. Izuku always looked up to heroes because they stepped in and saved the day when the world needed them most. Then again, that was before the incident happened. No one saved him back then when he needed it most. Perhaps, things like this always occurred, but he never noticed because he was too self-absorbed.

The train rolled up to his stop, interrupting his thoughts. He quickly got up, and moved his way to his transfer line, doing his best to shrug off his doubts about the heroes he looked up to so much.

“Look, isn’t that her?”

“You mean the one in the red ribbon?”

“Yeah, that one.”

“She’s so thin. It’s not fair. I got my hair in a ponytail too..”

“And, what does that have to do with being thin?”

Their remarks bothered Izuku. People always talked about him like was always there at his old school. That girl probably didn’t like it, but like him, she cared too much about others to say anything. He wished he could do something, but didn’t want to cause a scene, and his train was there anyways, so his time was already up. Right now, school was more important.

He stood next to a seat where the girl with red hair was sitting. She suddenly stood up, as if realizing something important.

“Please, take my seat. My station’s coming up,” she told the old woman.

“Are you sure?”

The old woman was about to take the seat, but a guy stole it from her. Izuku couldn’t help but glare at him. If it wasn’t for his restraint and the fact that others were watching, he would have thrown the guy right off. That guy was clearly a villain, and it irked him to no end. How come that guy could get away with this while all he did was be a hero one time, and get treated like garbage!?

“Excuse me, that seat was meant for the lady.”

The guy looked up briefly, then fell asleep.

“Oh…”

At this point, he wasn’t sure he could hold himself back if she told him to do something since she seemed like a nice person.

“Do you want me to wake him up?” he asked.

“It’s okay. I understand his position as well,” she said, before acknowledging the old woman. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t be any help.”

“It’s okay, dearie. No need to worry.”

But, it wasn’t okay. There was a villain right there, and yet, no one did a thing. If there was one thing he realized the past month, it was that villains who used their quirks to hurt others were not the only kind out there. Everyday people hurt others with their own selfish actions. It was right in front of him, yet he was powerless to do anything. What kind of hero couldn’t even help an old woman!?

“Please allow me to carry your luggage at least!”

“Thank you!” the old woman said. “Isn’t it heavy, though?”

“Not at all. I train plenty.”

The train eventually pulled to a stop, and he was able to distance himself from the problem. However, the girl chased after him.

“Excuse me.”

He reluctantly turned his head, and tried to hide the helplessness he felt.

“Thank you so much for earlier.”

“B-But I didn’t do anything!”

“You spoke up when I was trying to help that lady. You go to Shujin Academy, right? I’m a student there myself. Thanking you totally slipped my mind on the train, and I did not want to be rude to you. Excuse me.”

He stood there, jaw dropped. Did someone just thank him? The useless deku who only made his problems worse just by existing? And, a girl no less! It looked like things were looking up for him after all! Maybe he had more of a chance at becoming a hero than he originally thought!

With a smile on his face, he made his way to the entranceway to Shujin Academy. He trudged his way through the rain, and arrived in front of the building. It appeared to be a normal school, not a castle. What was all that, anyway? He knew for a fact that was not a dream. Well, not like there was much he could do about it. For now, he just needed to get through the day.

He sat in his chair behind the blond girl from the day before, and listened to the teacher as he began the class.

“I’m the social studies teacher, Mr. Ushimaru. I’ll be teaching you the rules of society this year.”

Rules like ‘if you’re a shitty deku, you should take a swan-dive off the roof?’ He can hardly wait.

“You all look like you’ve been spoiled growing up. Can’t wait to see who disappoints me the most this year.”

He felt like that was directed at him, even though the teacher was not looking him right in the eyes. No Izuku, this isn’t your old school. Shujin Academy was a quirkless prep school, which meant they wanted people just like him to succeed, not fail. He could do this! He just had to remember what he already knew, and pay attention. He got this.

“A certain dictionary defines a year as ‘a period of three hundred and sixty five disappointments.’ The books title is about as cynically satirical as the rest of it. It’s ‘The Devil’s Dictionary’ by Ambrose Bierce. Hey, new kid.”

He had a feeling that was coming. The teacher was looking directly at him! Stay calm, Izuku. If you got this right, you could stay on the teacher’s good side, and maybe he would not hate you. Just breath, and think carefully.

“Tell me what the Devil’s Dictionary defined as the chief factor in the progress of the human race.”

The Devil’s dictionary. He remembered learning about it last year in one of his classes. And, he believed the answer was…

“Was it villains, sir?”

“Correct. Malefactors, to be precise. You actually knew that, huh?”

That’s right, he did. Kacchan always called him a nerd as an insult, but maybe he could make it something to be proud of. He couldn’t help but have a confident grin when the teacher’s smugness was wiped off his own face. If only Kacchan could see him now.

“Sure, villains effect the course of history. But remember that this definition is a sardonic witticism. Nothing more. Here in the real world, villains don’t push humanity forward. All they do is cause chaos and strife.”

And, that was why they had heroes like All Might, to stop the villains from hurting the innocent. Or, at least that was what he had believed. Lately, he had begun to notice how many people the heroes did not help. They only saved lives, they didn’t make them any better. And, the villains hadn’t went away either. Were the heroes as good as he thought they were, or did his admiration for All Might make him believe a lie?

“Wow, he got it right. Is he really a villain?”

“He seemed like a punk, but maybe he’s actually good at studying.”

Were his ears tricking him, or did his class really praise him just now? Even though he had decent grades at his old school, nobody ever praised him. They only ever acknowledged Kacchan, and they always insulted him because of his quirklessness. It seemed those days were officially over. He would show them the best he could be, and they would all learn that he was not a villain! He could do it! He just had to be patient.

“I know you have all heard reports of these agitators stirring up trouble. We don’t have room for any villains here. Not in school, and not in society. Am I clear?”

That one was definitely aimed at him. He was not out of the woods yet. But, at least he made a decent first impression.

The rest of the class went without incident, and he was finally released from the classroom. He then saw Kamoshida walk over to Takamaki, which made his blood boil.

“Hey there, Takamaki! Things have been pretty dangerous lately with all those accidents and villain attacks.”

“Sorry, I have a photoshoot today. It’s for the special summer issue, so I can’t afford to miss it.”

“Hey now, being a model’s fine and all, but don’t work your pretty little self to the bone.”

He wanted to get him away from her, but if he did anything, he would risk expulsion which was the last thing he needed right now. He just needed to stay calm, and it would go away on its own. He would not let Kamoshida ruin this good day.

“You mentioned you weren’t feeling well, right? Something about appendicitis?”

“I keep planning on going to the hospital, but I’ve been too busy. Sorry to worry you.”

To Izuku, that felt like a lie she created to keep Kamoshida way from her, and for that, he couldn’t blame her, even though he hated lying because it was villain-like. If it was to protect yourself from a horrible person, then it was completely justified!

“You must be lonely, too. I feel bad for keeping your friend at practice so often. Oh, and be careful around that transfer student. He’s got a criminal record. If something were to happen to you…”

That made him clench his fist. So, was it Kamoshida that spread his criminal record around the school? That man was clearly a villain! Why did everyone else seem so ignorant about this!?

“Thank you. Please excuse me.”

“Tch.”

Both were gone, and he was finally able to release the breath he didn’t even realize he was holding. With Kamoshida around, he might not make it through the year. He had to be more careful around him if he wanted to remain a student at Shujin Academy. For now, he would head on home.

Izuku walked out of the front entrance, and Ryuji walked up to him.

“Yo.”

“W-What do you want?”

While he knew Ryuji was a good guy, the blond hair reminded him too much of Kacchan for comfort. Hopefully, he would get over this once they met up more. Ryuji could potentially become his best friend at Shujin Academy, and he did not want to let his own paranoia ruin that.

“I wanna talk about that castle from yesterday. I tried to tell myself that it was all a dream, but that wouldn’t work. I can’t act like nothing happened. It’s all connected to that bastard Kamoshida, after all. I wanna find out what’s up with that place, no matter what. And you know, you’re the only person I can rely on for this. So, are you in?”

He knew full well that the castle was real and it had something to do with Kamoshida, but he tried to avoid it because he did not want to endanger ruining his future. However, he couldn’t get it out of his head, and he knew that heroes were brave, and he would be a disgrace to hero society if he backed out now. And besides, he stood more of a chance of becoming a hero with that new power than without. There were no heroes there to help, and they were the only ones with the knowledge about this, so they were meant to do it, right? Perhaps, he should go through it it and see what happened.

“How should we do this?”

“Nice! I’m glad we’re in this together. I think we should try and retrace our steps from yesterday. In the meantime, you’re walking to the station, right? Let’s go together. Lemme know if you notice anything weird on the way.”

They were going to be hanging out like actual friends! Ryuji seemed like a good guy. He would like it if they could keep doing things together in the future. Maybe if he was lucky, he could meet more friends and they could all hangout together! He was excited already, and the year had just begun. For the first time in his life, the future was looking bright.

The two of them walked a little ways, and stopped.

“If a castle like that really exists, I’m sure we’ll find it in no time. When did they build something like that though?”

Ryuji looked around, examining his surroundings.

“We walked that way from here, right?”

“I-I think so.”

“This way, then. Lemme know if you notice something.”

They eventually arrived, and saw a school. Just a school. There was nothing weird about it. The castle was definitely there though! They both saw it. They weren’t crazy.

“Huh? We’re at the school… there wasn’t anything out of place along the way, right? I didn’t see no castle either. We must’ve made a wrong turn somewhere. Let’s try again.”

He was beginning to have doubts. The castle may have been there before, but it was clearly gone now. Maybe it was only a one-time thing, and there was no way back.

“O-Okay, but just one more time. I-I need to go home.”

“Just this last time, I promise. Okay, let’s go.”

Sure enough, Shujin Academy was there like last time. There was no castle in sight.

“For real?”

They went off to the side, and began to discuss their weird predicament.

“What do you think?”

Izuku thought back to what happened that day, then remembered something crucially important. On that day, his phone was acting weirdly because of that app. It hadn’t gone off recently, but it was on that day. If that was the case, then maybe…

“Ryuji, check your phone.”

“I already did that. I didn’t see anything like it around here. Huh, phone? That reminds me, didn’t you have a navigation app thingy on back then?”

He didn’t know if that was what it was called, but it appeared to be working in a similar way.

“Navigation App… if that was it, then maybe…”

He began muttering under his breath.

“Are you listening to me, man? I said, didn’t it say things like ‘return to the real world’ or something like that? Lemme see your phone for a bit.”

He handed Ryuji his phone, and watched as Ryuji looked down at all his apps.

“What’s this eyeball thing?”

“I-I don’t know. It just appeared on its own.”

“What a weird app. Oh wait, this is it! I knew it! It’s a navigation app! There’s even your search history! Oh man, I’m such a genius! Let’s try using it!”

“M-Maybe we should think about this…”

He considered it before, but thinking back on it, that castle was really dangerous. If the app worked and they entered it without a plan, then who knew what would happen.

“Why? All we’re doing is starting an app.”

Ryuji pressed it, and something started to happen.

“Kamoshida… Shujin Academy… pervert… castle… beginning navigation.”

It appeared to be working. He wasn’t sure whether he should be happy or scared about that.

“There we go! Then, we went in a certain direction, and…”

A deep purple color began to take over their surroundings. The panic began to set in. He wasn’t ready for this! But, there was no backing out now.

“Huh? What the hell?”

At this point, the app had completely consumed his phone screen, and was a blazing red. That color spread, and before he knew it, there was a castle in place of Shujin Academy.

“It’s the castle from yesterday!”

Ryuji ran through the gate, and stopped before a door, making Izuku have no choice but to follow him into its depths.

“We made it back. That means what happened yesterday was for real too…”

“Y-Yeah...”

And, that was what he was afraid of. What were they supposed to do now? They were in over their heads. How they were they supposed to deal with something that even heroes didn’t know about!?

“Those clothes…”

His green eyes widened, and he looked down at his hand, noticing that the red glove from his weird outfit had returned.

“What’s with that outfit?”

“I-I’m not sure! I-It must have something to do with this place.”

“What’s going on here? This makes no sense at all…”

“Hey.”

They turned their heads, and saw that Morgana was standing before them.

“Stop making a commotion.”

“You!?”

“Morgana!?”

“The Shadows started acting up, so I came here wondering what it could be. To think you guys would come back to the entrance when you barely managed to escape.”

Morgana was right. They were both foolish. However, Izuku could not blame Ryuji for this. A part of him wanted to know more about the castle, too. Hopefully, his curiosity didn’t get the better of him in the end.

“What is this place? Is it the school?” Ryuji asked.

“That’s right.”

“But it’s a castle!”  
Those were his thoughts exactly. The castle and the school could not be the same thing. It was impossible! His nerd brain couldn’t comprehend it, and he began muttering under his breath again.

“The castle is the school. But, only to this castle’s ruler.”

That snapped him out of his thoughts. Apparently, Morgana actually had an idea of what was going on. Maybe they could finally get some answers.

“The castle’s ruler?”

“I think you called him Kamoshida? It’s how his distorted heart views the school.”

Kamoshida? Distorted heart? So, was the castle another reality, then? This was all very confusing.

“Kamoshida… distorted… explain it in a way that makes sense!”

“I shouldn’t have expected a moron to get it.”

“What’d you say!?”

A sudden scream interrupted the argument, making him take a step back.

“W-What was that?” Izuku questioned.

“It must be the slaves held captive here.”

“For real!?”

Morgana just stared.

“Oh shit… it’s for real! We saw the other guys held captive here yesterday. I’m pretty sure they are from our school.”

“Most likely on Kamoshida’s orders. It’s nothing out of the ordinary; it’s like that everyday here.”

That happened everyday? Where where the heroes? Couldn’t anyone besides them hear their screams?

But, Izuku knew the truth. These people were hurting, and they were the only one’s who knew about it. He just wished there was something he could do.

“What’s more, you two escaped yesterday. He must have lost his temper quite a bit.”

“That son of a bitch!”

He couldn’t help but agree with Ryuji. They escaped, because they were going to die! They had the right to defend themselves, as did anyone else being hurt by a villain!

“Ryuji?” Morgana asked, with concern.

“This is bullshit!”

He ran over to the side, and slammed into the door.

“You hear me, Kamoshida!?

“Doing that isn’t going to open it, you know. Still, it seems you have your reasons.”

“Hey, Monamona!”

“It’s Morgana!”

Izuku did his best not to laugh. How did Ryuji manage to mess his name up that badly? They just met him yesterday! And, what kind of name was that, anyway? Ryuji was quite the guy.

“Do you know where those voices are coming from?”

“You want me to take you to them? Well, I guess I could guide you there. But, only if he comes with us.”

That caught his attention. Why did Morgana want him to come? There’s no way he could be of any help, right?

“W-Why me?”

“I just want to get a better look at your powers. Even if you don’t agree, I bet this guy will go on even if he has to do it alone. Are you going to leave him?”

No, he couldn’t do that. That’s what a villain would do. He would go, and make sure Ryuji stayed safe, even if it was the last thing he did, because protecting people was what heroes did.

“N-No! T-That’s not what I meant!”

“It’s settled then!”

“For real!? Thanks, man.”

Ryuji really seemed to appreciate him being there. Ryuji was the first person besides his mother to ever want him around. He would not lose him to this place.

“All right, let’s do this! Follow me!”

They eventually arrived at a spot where a hole in the wall was visible.

“This is our infiltration point.”

“Isn’t that where we escaped last time?”

“That’s right. Not barging through the entrance is one of the basics of phantom thievery.”

Thievery? Didn’t Igor say something about that before? But, he wanted to become a hero, not a thief! This whole thing better not turn him into a villain!

“How are we supposed to know about that stuff?”

“I’ll make sure to teach you as we go. Come on, follow me!”

Morgana ran off, leaving the two of them alone.

“So, uh, sorry about dragging you into all of this. But, I can’t forgive that bastard Kamoshida for doing whatever the hell he wants!”

That was the one thing they both agreed on more than anything. It was about time Kamoshida got brought to justice for his villainous deeds. Maybe they could do something about it in this castle. The castle appeared to be centered around Kamoshida, after all. Though, he shouldn’t get his hopes up. They barely survived last time. He should be careful. Even with Morgana guiding them, one mistake could bring their doom, especially since Ryuji didn’t have a Persona and was still quirkless. He would do his best to ensure nothing bad happened.

“Really though, thanks for coming along. I owe you big time!”

Ryuji owed him? That was something he had never been told before. But, heroes did not take from others, they just helped them without question. He shouldn’t expect to be rewarded for any of this, especially since being a thief was illegal. Why did it all have to be so complicated?

“Y-You’re welcome. S-Should we go in?”

“Yeah, let’s go!”

They entered the castle, and Izuku couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable in the dark room.

“Man, this place is as creepy as always.”

“Mm-hm. Now, make sure you do exactly as I say, all right?”

Morgana then proceeded to run over to the doorway.

“Follow me!”

They ran after Morgana, and wound up in the main room from the other day.

“Hey, we were here when we came in the front.”

At that moment, their scenery shifted and it appeared like they were standing in Shujin Academy instead of the castle, then it returned to how it was.

“What the!? I was seeing double or something right now! Was that Shujin!?”

“I’ve told you before, that place is Shujin. Regardless, we don’t have time to stand around. Who knows when a shadow might show up. Come on, this way!”

They returned to the staircase from the other day before any shadows were able to find them. However, they couldn’t get far without running into a guard.

“Shoot, I had a feeling there would be guards here. It looks like we are going to have to start fighting our way forward.”

“F-For real?”

“I’ll teach you the basics of battle for now. You better not forget this. Always try to ambush enemies instead of running around everywhere. Attacking from behind is the best way to catch them off guard. You’ll need to rip their masks off to momentarily break the control the Palace ruler has has over them. This will allow us to jump in for a preemptive attack.”

Sounded simple enough. He just had to be careful, right? He had a Persona now, so he wasn’t powerless anymore. He could do this.

“So we wanna get the jump on them, and make the first strike. Got it!”

“You know you’re only going to be watching, right? You don’t have a Persona. But anyway, let’s go!”

Izuku took a deep breath, and the second the guard turned around, he dashed up from behind, and ambushed it as Morgana instructed. A single enemy appeared, and it didn’t look very strong. He used some of his curse ability on it, then Morgana followed up with wind, and the battle was over just like that.

“I did it!” he said to himself, afterwards.

He couldn’t help but have a big smile on his face. If only Kacchan could see him take down that enemy almost entirely on his own without taking any damage. If he could master this power, imagine the kinds of things he could do!

They continued down the corridor, and took a turn, finding there to not be a single guard.

“Why is there nobody here?” Ryuji asked.

They all looked into the cell, only to find it to be empty.

“Dammit, they were here before! Where did they go!?”

“Quiet down!” Morgana retorted.

“Oh yeah, there were more of them further in, too!”

Ryuji ran off before he could say anything, leaving him temporarily alone with, Morgana.

“They might have been moved already.”

Ryuji ran away from wherever it was he had gone off to, looking like he was freaked out by something.

“Crap, I hear lots of footsteps coming!”

“It would be a problem if they discovered us now.”

Morgana headed towards a weird door, and stopped before it.

“Let’s head into that room. We should be able to hide in there until they leave.”

Izuku wasn’t sure how the room would protect them, but the enemies were getting closer and he trusted Morgana’s judgement, so he didn’t argue, and followed him into the room. There wasn’t much there besides the table, and it looked like the room had been abandoned for quite awhile. Maybe if they were lucky, the guards really wouldn’t find them.

“The Shadows probably won’t come in here,” Morgana said.

“How can you tell?” Ryuji questioned.

“There’s a lack of distortion here, meaning that the ruler’s control over this area is weak.”

“Lack of distortion?” Izuku asked, aloud.

At that moment, everything shifted, and the abandoned room looked just like a classroom. It then faded back into the room once more.

“Is this a classroom!?”

“Now do you understand? This place is another reality that the ruler’s heart projects.”

Another reality that the heart projects? How was such a thing even possible? He would have to make a notebook about all of this information later to make sense of it all.

“This is Kamoshida’s reality? This makes no sense at all!”

“One could say it is a world where one’s distorted desires have materialized. I call such a place a palace.”

“A palace?”

“This is happening because he thinks the school is his own castle.”

Distorted desires? Palace? So, this definitely wasn’t the cause of a quirk then. It was some natural phenomenon. Did the heroes even know if palaces existed? Were they the first ones to ever enter? He had so many questions.

“So, it became like this because he thought of it like that? That son of a bitch!”

“You must really hate that Kamoshida guy,” Morgana stated.

“Hate doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel. Everything is that asshole’s fault!”

Now that he thought about it, he still didn’t know what Kamoshida did to make Ryuji hate him so much. He would have to ask sometime, but now didn’t look like a good time. They still had to complete their investigation of the castle, and get out of there in one piece. Maybe afterwards, he could try to make more of a sense of things.

“I don’t know what happened between you, but don’t let your emotions get the better of you. His lackeys are everywhere inside.”

Morgana perked up, as if he remembered something important.

“You’re curious about your outfit, aren’t you?”

“Yeah I am,” Izuku admitted.

He had actually forgotten he was wearing it. It was already becoming natural like it was a part of him, and he wasn’t sure how he should feel about that yet.

“Yeah, I’m curious about it, too.”

“That’s also because of this world.

“More stuff that doesn’t make sense…” Ryuji muttered.

“Anything distorts according to how a ruler pleases in their palace. A school can turn into a castle here, after all. In order to prevent such distortions, one must hold a powerful will of rebellion. Your appearance is a manifestation of that. It’s a representation of the rebellion you hold within.”

Rebellion? He wasn’t sure how that created an outfit, but he did remember fighting against fate right before his Persona awakened. Perhaps, this outfit was related to that. He would definitely have to make notes about this later tonight.

“I’m so fed up with all of this! I’m more curious about you than his clothes! What the hell are you anyways!?”

“I’m a human! An honest-to-god human!”

Morgana, a human? He didn’t look human at all. Though, he did talk, and he didn’t appear to be like any of the Shadows in the palace. Perhaps, there was some truth to that then.

“No, your obviously more like a cat!”

“This is, well, because I lost my true form, I think.”

“You think?”

“But I do know how to regain my true form. The reason I am stuck here was for an investigation of those means. Though, I ended up being captured. Besides, I’ve been tortured by Kamoshida, too! I’m gonna make him pay for sure!”

So, Morgana had lost his true form, and was on a mission to recover it? Izuku understood him somewhat. He was born quirkless but couldn’t help but try and discover what was actually impossible. Hopefully, things would turn out better for Morgana than they did for him. He wouldn’t mind helping out if Morgana needed it, considering all he had done for him. And besides, that was what heroes were for. And it also looked like Morgana wanted revenge on Kamoshida, so they had yet another ally. He hoped Morgana would become his friend and remain that way even if they somehow managed to deal with this castle somehow.

“What is this, a comic book? This is seriously crazy.”

That was a good point. They were behaving just like the vigilantes in those comic books he read as a child. If that was how things turned out for them, then hopefully they ended up like the kind that the public wanted to support instead of despise.

“If we’re gonna keep going, we should hurry along. I’ll be counting on your skills this time, rookie. Got it?”

“Y-Yes!”

It was going to take him a bit to get used to other people actually counting on him for once. If this was how it felt being a Persona user, then he could certainly get used to it!

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to force it on you. I just thought it might help, so…”

Ryuji took something out of his pocket, and Izuku couldn’t help but be taken aback. Was that a gun!? He had never seen one in-person before, and always tried to avoid them because of how much harm they caused people. He honestly had no idea how he was supposed to react to this. But after everything else that happened today, this was somehow the least surprising thing. What had his life come to?

“I brought this just in case! It’s only a model gun though, so it only makes sounds.”

So, it wasn’t real then. That was a relief. He wasn’t sure if he could handle holding a real one. That would make him too much of a villain, and his mom would be so disappointed in him if she ever found out. At least this wouldn’t cause anyone any harm.

“That’s a toy!” Morgana retorted.

“But it at least looks real, so it will fake them out. I brought some medicine too. You know what they say: ‘providing is pre… something. Huh? Huh?”

“So, you were planning this from the start. Fine, if you’re ready to go, we’ll resume our infiltration.”

He accepted the items from Ryuji, and placed them in his pocket. Hopefully, they would be useful somehow.

“There are probably still sentries making their rounds out there. Let’s use this time to analyze our current situation.”

“Dammit, where did all those guys that were locked up go?” Ryuji angrily asked.

“They were all probably moved to another location.”

“But where and why!?”

“Don’t ask me! But, there were guards around, right? Maybe we can try eavesdropping on them.”

“Good idea,” Izuku agreed.

That way, they could be more certain to get accurate information, since the guards wouldn’t even realize they were there. Sort of like how underground heroes handled things. Less upfront, but more behind the scenes.

They pressed their ears up against the door, and overheard a group of guards talking.

“I thought I just heard something move over there. Guess it was just my imagination,” one stated.

“And what of the slaves?” another asked.

“They’re all in the training hall. I assume they are all screaming in pain by now,” another answered.

“Very well. By the way, I heard that we may have intruders around. Make sure to remain on high alert.”

Then the guards dispersed, allowing Izuku to release the breath he didn’t even realize he was holding.

“Did you hear that?” Morgana asked, as they left the room.

“Yeah,” Izuku responded.

“They said the training hall, right?”

“I think that’s just a little farther ahead. Let’s go!”

They approached the staircase, only to see a guard patrolling on the lower area.

“There’s a guard on duty here. The way to the training hall should be just beyond those bars,” Morgana said.

“So, what should we do? Do we gotta fight it?”

“Seems that way. Just don’t let it notice us beforehand. If it does, the palace’s security level will rise.”

So, he had to be stealthy, huh? Izuku could do this. He managed to ambush a Shadow before. He would not let the security rise, and put his friends in danger!

“This is crucial to successful palace infiltration, so make sure you don’t forget it, okay?

“I won’t,” Izuku promised.

He waited for the enemy’s back to be turned, then ran up and ambushed it. Two enemies he had never seen before with white bodies and flowers on their head appeared before them.

“Now’s our chance to strike! Let’s do this!” Morgana encouraged.

And a few attacks later from both him and Morgana, both enemies were down for the count. Looked like he was finally getting a hang of this! Though, he probably shouldn’t get too cocky. There were bound to be much stronger enemies throughout the castle. One thing he learned from Kacchan was without enough power, you would fail regardless of intelligence, and he refused to make that mistake here when all of their lives were possibly on the line.

Izuku approached a door, and pulled a lever, which took them to another area.

“The training hall is just up ahead, right?” Ryuji asked.

“It’s just a bit further. Make sure you watch out for any guards along the way.”

They were about to walk into the next room, but he saw enemies at the last second, and stumbled back right in time to prevent them from being spotted. That was too close for comfort, but he was able to react in time, so everything was okay.

“Have you seen anyone that looks like an intruder?” a guard asked.

“Nobody yet,” the other responded.

“Shoot, I had a feeling there would be a lot of enemies. It would be impossible to avoid them all,” Morgana remarked.

“Should we try and take them down like before?”

“It’s not that simple. We still have a long way to go, and should be conserving energy.”

That made sense. He did notice that usage of his Persona had limits, and performing too many of its abilities at once would make him run out of batteries, and that would put them all in danger. He needed to be more careful to prevent himself from getting involved with battles he wasn’t prepared for.

“Dammit, I wish I could fight. I would at least be able to help out a little bit, but all I got is this toy from earlier. I’m such a loser.”

“You mean that gun?”

“Yeah, it looks real and all, but it doesn’t shoot anything.”

“Well, there is a way.”

Morgana looked like he had something up his sleeves again. But, how could a gun that couldn’t shoot anything possibly be useful? Though with the castle, anything seemed to be possible, so he should keep an open mind, and try to learn as much as he can.

“Okay, we’ll use that to take down the enemies!”

“Were you not listening to me? It doesn’t even shoot pellets!”

At that moment, one guard left, and the other began patrolling that hallway on its own.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure this will work. Attack!”

“On it,” Izuku responded, rushing up to ambush the enemy.

“You have the gun with you, right? Point it at the Shadow, and fire!”

A part of him had doubts, but Morgana had been correct so far, so there had been no reason not to trust his judgement. He pulled the trigger, and after a few shots, one enemy was down, and the other damaged. He couldn’t help but stare at the gun, surprised. Didn’t Ryuji say it didn’t have any bullets!?

“How about that, surprised? There are plenty of instances where rapid fire is going to be more useful than swinging your knife. Of course, you can run out of ammo, but using it all up does more good than letting it collect dust!”

So, something about the castle seemed to make the gun work like an actual gun. Though, it wasn’t a real one and the enemies were monsters, so he technically didn’t do anything bad with it. It would take him awhile to get used to it, though.

“I’ll show you mine, too!”

Morgana took out his slingshot, and a few shots later, the enemy was down for the count.

“Did that toy gun just shoot real bullets!?” Ryuji exclaimed.

“This is a cognitive world. As long as our opponent sees it as real, it becomes such. It’s a good thing it’s realistic-looking.”

So, that was how it worked. It was something to do with congnitions. He would definitely make an entire section about that in his Metaverse notebook.

“I don’t get it.”

“Because they think it is a gun, your ammo capacity is limited in battle. But your enemies are expecting you to come at them with guns loaded, so your ammo replenishes itself after every fight.”

That was super useful. More so than actual guns. He would definitely be using this a lot.

“What’s that commotion over there?” a guard asked.

They all turned, and faced the enemy.

“Why, you bastards!”

“Get ready, here comes another one! Take them down!” Morgana instructed.

A single enemy appeared before them.

“Our ammo’s replenished! Go and dump it into the enemy!”

He did just that, finishing it off with only a few bullets, while not having to use his Persona a single time.

“Just like I thought, all our ammo returned after that fight.”

“I wasn’t sure whether to bring it at first, but I’m sure glad I did,” Ryuji commented.

“We’re definitely lucky to have additional firearm in our arsenal. I must say, well done, even though it was just dumb luck that it worked here.”

“Did you really have to put it like that?”

“Quit griping, blondie. You’re still getting praised,” Morgana said. “Oh by the way, we should decide how we divvy up our roles in battle from here on out. As you see, there are a lot of enemies. It’ll be important to coordinate our moves well. I can keep providing intel for us, but you should decide how we fight, frizzy hair.”

“Me?”

He still wasn’t used to being given such important tasks. Though whatever the task, he would not let his new friends down!

“What do you mean ‘how we fight’?”

“Basically, what we do in battle. He can order us directly, or let us decide what we do. Though I guess I’m the only other one fighting right now. What’s the plan? Want me following orders, or acting on them?”

Izuku thought carefully on this decision. He was still new at this, and wasn’t sure whether or not he should trust his own judgement. However, he liked to believe he was good at analyzing things since he did it with heroes all his life, and it might be a better idea if there was someone calling the shots instead of everyone acting freely. He hoped he was making the right choice, and not jumping the gun.

“I would like to give orders, i-if that’s okay with you.”

“No problem! Let’s see what you got.”

It was official. He was now in charge of their battle tactics. Hopefully, his years of analyzing heroes wasn’t all for naught.

They moved down the corridor, and stumbled upon another guard. He ambushed it, and two enemies appeared before them. He relied his gun to defeat one, and Morgana’s to finish off the other. Then, the fight was over.

However, it wasn’t too long until they discovered another guard, and it was standing in front of the door they needed.

“A guard, and I’m pretty sure that’s where we need to go, too.”

“You guys gonna take them down again?” Ryuji asked.

“I guess that’s our only choice. But wait, this might be a good time… okay, I’ve decided! I’m gonna teach you a special way to fight enemies!”

“Is it a new move?” Izuku questioned, excitedly.

He had to admit that he was starting to get into this, even if only a little.

“Something like that. Let’s do this!”

He ran up to the enemy, and they entered combat.

“Listen, there’s a distinct flow to battles, let me show you. After all, seeing is… something? First, knock down all the enemies! Everything starts at that crucial step!”

He used his curse ability on the enemy, which knocked it down instantly.

“Now it’s time for an All-Out attack!”

The two of them consistently attacked the enemy, and then, the fight was over.

“That went really well! You’re definitely fit for this.”

“What was that super move you just did?” Ryuji questioned.

“I told you, it was an All-Out Attack. If you manage to knock all the enemies down, you might be able to use it to defeat all of them at once.”

So, that was the special move Morgana mentioned earlier? Sounded pretty useful. He would definitely make a section of his notebook dedicated to combat, and this would be one of the thing at the top of the list.

“Yeah, that was over quick!”

“It’s a concentrated attack on defenseless enemies, after all. Now as I mentioned before, I want you to be the head of our command. You can decide when we use this.”

“Y-Yes!” Izuku responded.

He would not let them down!

They entered the next room, and it had appeared they arrived at their destination.

“This is it!” Morgana confirmed.

“Kamoshida’s training hall of love? What kinda bullshit is this?”

When they entered, the first thing they heard was a scream.

“Where is that coming from?” Ryuji asked.

A few steps into the dungeon, and they found the source.

“Oh, is it coming from over there?”

They found a place where they could observe where the sounds were coming from, and as soon as they did, Izuku felt pure fury. People were being hung up to what appeared to be a volleyball net, and being beaten up. He wanted nothing more than to jump down and save them, but managed to restrain himself for his new friends safety. This just proved to him more than ever that Kamoshida was a villain. He was going to pay!

“Dammit, this is bullshit!”

“How many times to I have to tell you to keep your voice down?”

“But, this is beyond messed up!”

Ryuji managed to restrain himself, but didn’t give up.

“How do I open this up?”

“Stop it!” an unfamiliar voice demanded.

A man who had multiple injuries, and could barely stand approached them. 

“Leave us alone. It’s useless.”

“Huh!?”

Useless? Did he really believe that? Just what were the heroes doing!? These were people that needed help! How did they not notice that!? Izuku clenched his fist, as he made sure what he saw would be engraved into his memory forever.

“If we stay obedient, we won’t be executed like you guys!”

“You’re telling me you wanna stay in a place like this!?” Ryuji said.

“Wait a minute, were you planning on taking these guys out of here?”

“We can’t just leave them here!”

“How stupid can you be?” Morgana remarked.

“Huh!?”

“These humans only exist in Kamoshida’s cognition. These aren’t the ones from reality. They’re different from you two.”

“Cognition?”

So, that meant that innocent people in real life were being hurt like this by Kamoshida? As a future hero, he would not let this stand! There had to be something he could do, anything!

“It means there’s no point in saving them! They’re different from the ones in the real world! You could say they are similar-looking dolls.”

“So the school’s a castle, and the students are slaves. It’s so on-point that it makes me laugh. This really is inside of that asshole’s head!”

Morgana appeared before the bars, and looked down on them.

“Still, this is horrible. It must mean he treats them as slaves in the real world, too.”

“In the real world, too? Wait, I know these guys. They’re members of the volleyball team, the one that Kamoshida coaches for!”

“They must be physically abused everyday. There’s no way they’d be so beat-up normally.”

So, Kamoshida really did abuse people! No wonder he got such a bad vibe! But, those people needed help asap. If only the heroes could do something… no, he couldn’t rely on them. They hadn’t been helpful at all so far, so why would that start now? They were the only ones that knew, so they were the ones that could do something about it. There had to be a way!

“Don’t tell me, they’re going through the same shit in reality!?”

“Most likely. I mean, this proves that Kamoshida thinks of them like slaves.”

“So, it might be for real… I heard that Kamoshida uses physical punishment. They are just rumors, but if they’re true, wouldn’t this be something to report to the police? I’ll use these guys as evidence. If all goes well, we can take down that bastard Kamoshida!”

Ryuji tried to take a picture, but it failed.

“It didn’t work? We can use the navigation app, but the camera’s a no go!?”

Guess that made sense. The castle was separate from their reality. And besides, that probably wouldn’t work as real evidence, especially since others probably didn’t know this place existed. They needed to figure something else out if they wanted to save those people.

“A navigation app?” Morgana asked.

“That’s what we used to come here. What about yours?”

Izuku took out his phone, and immediately noticed that his camera was not working. It appeared the navigation app was the only thing on his phone that worked in the castle.

“Whatever you do is fine, but we’re going to get caught if we stand around like this. We need to head back!”

“Hang on a second, I’ll memorize these guys faces before we go! Let’s check out the other cells around here.”

They approached another, and saw a group of guys running at high speeds in-place without slowing down for even a second, due to fear of being pierced by the spinning wheel of spikes behind them.

“W-Water…”

“Please, no more…”

“Not giving athletes water for tough training is a common thing in the real world, too. I’m gonna try to memorize these guys faces before we go back!”

A few minutes passed before Ryuji finished.

“Okay, I’m done. Let’s see if there are any more.”

Izuku knew athletes were treated roughly, and couldn’t help but wonder about the hero schools as well. Were the people there treated just like this? No, that couldn’t be. Heroes would know better, and Kamoshida was a villain. He would pay for this!

They then approached a cell where a single guy resided.

“I don’t know why you guys are here, but just leave us alone.”

“What are you talking about? You’re seriously okay with this!? I guess there’s no point in trying to talk to them.”

They arrived at another big area. In this one, a volleyball player was tied upsidown, and volleyballs were being flung at them with a lot of force, making Izuku grimace.

“It hurts!” the guy cried out.

“The hell? This isn’t training at all! It’s just violence! That means he’s doing something similar in reality, right? That sick bastard!”

Izuku wanted nothing more than to beat Kamoshida and take him to the police, but right now, they needed to finish their investigation and leave.

“Ryuji…”

“I know, just gimme a sec. I’ll memorize them quickly.”

“Hey, are you done yet? You’re cutting it close!” Morgana interjected.

“Don’t freak me out like that, you moron! Anyway, I got all of them.”

“Then, let’s stop wasting time! We need to leave!”

They made their way out, and arrived at the door they entered from.

“We need to get out of here, quickly!”

“All right, we’re back. We gotta get out of here fast!” Ryuji said.

“The watch post near the training hall has stopped reporting! Chances of intruder activity are extremely high! All personnel, increase security measures!” a guard off in the distance, instructed.

That wasn’t good. They really overstayed their welcome. They needed to leave now!

“We stayed here too long. Come on, let’s get out of here!” Morgana stated.

They abandoned the area, and arrived at a staircase.

“The exit’s this way! Let’s hurry!”

They entered the main hall, but it appeared that they were too late. Kamoshida and his guards were already awaiting them.

“You knaves again? To think you would make the same mistake twice. You’re hopeless!” Kamoshida commented.

“This school isn’t your castle! I’ve memorized their faces real good. You’re going down!” Ryuji spat.

“It seems it’s true when they say ‘barking dogs seldom bite.’ How far the star runner of the track team has fallen.”

“What the hell are you getting at!?”

“I speak of the ‘track traitor’ who acted in violence, destroying his teammates dreams. Oh, I can only imagine the pain of those who were dragged down because of your selfish act.”

Track Traitor? Act of violence? Just what was it that Ryuji did? He didn’t seem like a bad guy. There’s no way he would intentionally do such a horrible thing, right?

“W-What is he talking about?” Izuku inquired.

“So you’re accompanying him without knowing anything at all? He betrayed his teammates and crushed their dreams, yet he still carries on as carefree as ever.”

“That’s not true!” Ryuji shouted.

“What a tragedy. You blindly trusted this fool, and he leaded you right to your death.”

Kamoshida turned around, preparing to leave the scene.

“Hurry up and dispose of them. I can’t stand their stench,” he ordered the guards.

The two armored guards transformed, and three jet black horned horses appeared menacingly before them.

“Goddammit…”

“Ryuji, move!” Morgana shouted.

“I’ll kill you because King Kamoshida told us to! I’ll kill because that’s what he wants!” the enemy yelled, at the top of its lungs.

The enemy attacked first, doing damage to both him and Morgana. He used his gun to drain ones health down, but it wasn’t enough to finish it off. Even Morgana’s wind attack couldn’t take it down.

“There’s more of them? This is bad.”

With a couple strong hits, he and Morgana both collapsed. No, not now. Not when things were finally looking up for him. He couldn’t die here! But, it was no use. Unless a miracle happened, they would all die here.

Kamoshida walked over, and stomped on Morgana’s back.

“You piece of-”

The golden knight came over, and made sure Izuku could not get up again. It was official; they were doomed. He knew coming to the castle was a bad idea, so why didn’t he listen to his gut? If Kacchan could see this, he would be calling him a useless deku about know, and worst of all, he would be right, because he had failed, and because of his failure, everyone would die. Some hero he turned out to be.

“I bet you came here on a whim, and ended up like this, right?”

Ryuji had fallen to his knees, and could only stare at Kamoshida in despair and fear of what was to inevitably come to pass.

“No…”

“What a worthless piece of trash, getting emotional so quickly. How dare you raise your hand at me! Though it was only temporary, have you forgotten my kindness in supervising your track practice?”

“It wasn’t no practice, it was physical abuse! You just didn’t like our team!” Ryuji cried out, on his fours.

“It was nothing but an eyesore! The only one who needs to achieve results is me! The coach who got fired was hopeless, too. Had he not opposed me with a sound argument, I would’ve only settled it with breaking his star’s leg!”

Kamoshida did what now? Was there no evil this man was willing to do for his own success? What did he have to do for the police or the heroes to go after him!?

“What?” Ryuji asked, just as baffled as he was.

“Do you need me to deal with your other leg, too? The school will call it self-defense anyway!”

At this point, that was going to happen, because he was too powerless to do anything. Why did he have to be born a useless deku!? It wasn’t fair!

“Dammit, am I going to lose again? Not only can I not run anymore, the track team is gone too because of this asshole.”

“So, that’s why…” Morgana muttered.

“Once these two are dealt with, you’re next. Hahaha!”

“Ryuji!”

No, he couldn’t let them die here. There had to be something they could do. If only he could use his Persona… wait, Persona? That was it!

“Don’t let him win, Ryuji!” Izuku called out, with all his might.

“You’re right. Everything that was important to me was taken by him. I’m never getting it back.”

“Stay there and watch,” Kamoshida said, with a sadistic smirk on his face. “Look on as these hopeless scum die for nothing because they sided with trash like you!”

At that moment, Ryuji used his remaining strength to push himself back onto his feet.

“No, that’s what you are! All you think about is using people. You’re the real scumbag, Kamoshida!”

Ryuji took a couple steps forward, the fear from before completely gone.

“What are you doing? Silence him!” Kamoshida shouted.

“Stop looking down on me with that stupid smile on your face!” Ryuji shouted, pointing at Kamoshida.

At that moment, there was a shift in the air. Izuku couldn’t help but smile as a newfound hope entered his heart. Good job, Ryuji! With you, we might just make it out of here!

“You made me wait quite awhile.”

Ryuji cried out in pain, and fell to his knees.

“You seek power, correct? Then let us form a pact.”

Some blood dripped onto the floor as Ryuji rolled around.

“Since your name has been disgraced already, why not hoist the flag and wreak havoc? The ‘other you’ who exists within desires it thus.”

Ryuji gripped onto his face with burned, as he thrashed around.

“I am thou, thou art I… there is no turning back. The skull of rebellion is your flag henceforth!”

At that moment, a jet black mask appeared on his face.

“What can you do? Cower in fear and watch!” the guard shouted, raising its sword.

Ryuji used all his willpower, and managed to get onto his feet. He then tore off the mask and screamed, unleashing a new power into the world. As he regained his breath, a Persona that resembled a pirate floated behind him. Ryuji looked up, and grinned in Kamoshida’s direction.

“This one as well!?” Kamoshida remarked.

“Right on. What’s up, Persona? This ‘effing rocks! Now that I got this power, it’s time for payback!”

Morgana rolled onto his feet, and Izuku stood up after. He knew Ryuji had it in him! Now, they could work together, and get out of here!

“Yo, I’m ready. Bring it!”

“Don’t mock me, you brat!” the enemy demanded, transforming into a giant horse with an armored knight on its back.

“Blast him away, Captain Kidd!”

“What troublemakers that bother King Kamoshida with such trifle matters!”

“Kamoshida’s cognition isn’t changing, right? Then I’ll act like the troublemaker I am! Let’s do this, Captain Kidd!”

They began their onslaught on the enemies. Ryuji used his lightning on two of the smaller enemies, and even managed to take one out. Izuku then finished off the one he failed to, and only the big one in the center remained. Morgana attacked, but took a lot of damage from the enemy afterwards. After Izuku and Ryuji drained its health more, Morgana healed himself, but Izuku ended up being the one to take a hit this time. However, it wouldn’t matter in the end, because after one more hit from Ryuji’s lightning, all it took was one more attack from Izuku to finish it off once and for all.

“I am a loyal subject of the glorious King Kamoshida… so why have I lost!?” the enemy cried out, in complete and utter defeat.

“This just proves that Kamoshida isn’t anything special,” Ryuji deadpanned.

However, he was out of breath afterwards. Looked like using his Persona for the first time took a lot out of him. Hopefully, they could make their escape soon.

“How about that!?” Ryuji shouted, at Kamoshida.

“So, Ryuji had the potential, too…” Morgana said, to himself.

“Even if you apologize to me, I’m not forgiving you!”

“I told you that this is my castle, and you still don’t seem to understand.”

At that moment, a familiar looking girl wearing nothing but a bikini walked over to Kamoshida.

“Takamaki!?” both he and Ryuji exclaimed.

“W-What a meow-velous looking girl!” Morgana remarked.

“What’s going on?” Ryuji asked.

“Something’s not right…” Izuku acknowledged.

What would she be doing here? She didn’t have the navigation app, so that made no sense. Something was definitely amiss, and he didn’t like it one bit.

“Yeah, now that you mention it. But, why is she even here!?”

Kamoshida held her up by her chin, making Izuku want to run up and knock Kamoshida down.

“Let go of her, you perv!”

“How many times do I need to tell you before you understand? This is my castle, a place where I can do whatever I want, and where everyone wishes to be loved by me. That is, besides slow-witted thieves like you!”

“Takamaki, say something!”

“Calm down, Ryuji. It seems that girl isn’t the real one,” Morgana told him. “She’s the same as those slaves- a being made from Kamoshida’s cognition of her!”

“Are you jealous?” Kamoshida asked, making Izuku feel immediate disgust. “Well, I’m not surprised. Women are not drawn to problematic punks like you. Clean them up this instant!”

More Shadows appeared before them.

“We’re outnumbered! Let’s retreat before we get surrounded!” Morgana yelled.

“We’re just going to run!?”

“We need to get out of here now!” Izuku retorted.

They could return another time. For now, getting out alive should be there top priority. He knew when he was beat.

“Thank god you have a level head.”

“Fine,” Ryuji agreed, before looking directly at Kamoshida. “We’ll expose who you really are, no matter what! You better be ready for us!”

“Come at me, if you don’t value your life! Hahahaha!” Kamoshida bellowed.

“Ignore him. Let’s go!”

They bolted in the other direction, and somehow made it back to the castle entrance. All of them needed a moment to catch their breath from running at full-speed.

“Anyways, I don’t remember changing into this!” Ryuji commented, examining his new outfit.

“Looks like your clothes transform like mine do now,” Izuku responded.

“Did you find them?” a guard in the background, asked.

“Quiet!” Morgana demanded.

“No. Search that way!”

“What’s going on? I’m completely lost, man!”

“I told you before. When a Persona-user opposes a palace’s ruler, and becomes a threat to them, this happens. It’s to prevent you from being affected by distortions,” Morgana explained.

“Is this a skull?”

Now that he saw it closely, the mask did look like a skull. It appeared each Persona-user looked different. Something else to add to his notes.

“Your appearance reflects your inner self. It’s the rebel that slumbers within. Not that you’ll get it.”

“Nope.”

“Then stop asking questions, and accept what you see for what it is!”

“Easy for you to say. Wait, we’re in deep shit!” Ryuji said.

“I said to be quiet!”

“We might’ve gotten away, but we’re still screwed with Kamoshida at the real school.”

“That’s quite sharp of you, for being an idiot. Relax, the Kamoshida in reality doesn’t know what happened here. A Shadow is the true self that is repressed, a side of ones personality they don’t want to see.”

At least he didn’t have to worry about being expelled then. They had to tread carefully from now on to avoid getting on the real Kamoshida’s record more than they already had.

“So, we’re okay?”

“Did the Kamoshida in reality remember the execution?”

That was a ‘no’.

“There you have it.”

“Now that we know that, all we got to do is-”

“Well, I’ve guided you as promised. It’s your turn to cooperate with me. That’s why I was super nice about teaching you idiots everything.”

“Cooperate?” Ryuji asked.

“Don’t you remember? I originally came here for an investigation! I need to erase the distortion from my body and regain my true form. That’s why we need to delve deep into Mementos, and-”

Oh right, that promise. So much had happened that he almost forgot. But, could they truly help Morgana? They barely managed to get out of the castle alive.

“What are you going on about? We never said anything about helping you out.”

“Don’t tell me, are you really not going to repay the hospitality I showed you!? Especially you! You’re going to leave, even though you are already part of my master plan!?”

Izuku wanted to help Morgana, he really did. However, he didn’t think they could do anything right now, not at their current power level. And besides, he had school to worry about. He couldn’t just stay here forever.

“S-Sorry, Morgana,” he said.

“Is it because I’m not human? Because I’m like a cat? Is that why you’re making a fool of me!?”

“We’re busy!” Ryuji responded, before kneeling down to Morgana’s level. “Thank you for everything, cat. You’ve got guts, for being a cat and all. See you around!”

Taking a guilty look at Morgana, he followed Ryuji towards the exit. He would help Morgana someday because that’s what heroes did, but not right now. For now, he had other things to worry about.

“What the hell!? Why are you wrapping everything up like this!? Oh hell no! Get back here!”

And with that, they made their escape back to the real world.


End file.
